Sisterly Bonds
by quail58
Summary: Bella and her twin sister, Alice, move to Forks when their mother remarries. Alice falls for Jasper not realizing he is a vampire, and she unknowingly drags Bella into the Cullen's secret life.
1. Let's Call It Tank

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Twilight or its characters.

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I loved living in Phoenix. It was always warm, and it only rained a handful of times a year. Forks, Washington was the complete opposite being one of the rainiest places in all of the continental United States, and with it being further northward, it was certainly colder. Yet my family circumstances had made it so that a move from warm, sunny Phoenix to cold, wet Forks was inevitable.

Yet the hardest thing was leaving my mother and her new husband, Phil. We loved them thoroughly, but with Phil in the minor leagues he was nearly always on the road leaving us women behind. After several months my sister and I decided together that it was best to move in with our father in Forks in order to allow our mother the chance to travel with Phil. My sister had pointed out several times that our father needed our care more than our mother since Mom now had Phil to rely upon whereas Charlie hadn't had anyone since we were only seven months when our mother departed with us for sunny Phoenix. And as much as I detested Forks and the thought of living with my father, who I saw for only a couple of weeks a year in the summer, I was grateful that Alice, my fraternal twin sister was coming with me.

We were clearly not identical with her smaller, pixie looks and size. Her hair was black, and she cropped it short and spiked it out in all different directions. This was compared to my curly brown hair that often did not obey me, but of course always worked for Alice since she had a special touch.

That was another difference between us. She made anything and everything look beautiful where I simply settled for what little I got. She even moved with the most amazing grace I had ever set eyes upon, and I always managed to somehow trip over everything and yet nothing at the same time.

She was also more eccentric than I with her hyper behavior that always left people watching her strangely, yet the unwanted attention never seemed to both her. I preferred to remain hidden.

The most memorable thing about Alice was her fashion obsession. She got a job at a clothing store right after our sixteenth birthday so she could have shopping money and get an employee discount. She debated about going into fashion design after high school or becoming a professional shopper.

As we gathered our luggage from the carousel, Alice dug through our bags and pulled out the brand new coats she bought us. Seeing that we would need a new wardrobe, she pooled all of her money for months to go on a shopping spree to buy herself a whole new wardrobe. She had been gracious by also buying me a coat. Unfortunately I didn't have the same enthusiasm and had saved my money instead in hopes of buying a vehicle once we got there. The last thing I wanted was to be driven to school in the back of Charlie's police cruiser.

Charlie worked for the Forks Police Department. As the oldest of the three officers, he was naturally the chief of police. Of course, there were few threats to the sleepy town of only three thousand residents. And that small number only became more intimidating when I was informed by Charlie that the high school only had three hundred fifty-one students in attendance, which was smaller than our junior class in Phoenix.

After throwing on our coats we prepared for the mushy weather that awaited us. Not surprising, it was raining making the move seem more depressing. Of course, Alice wasn't phased at all by the weather or the move. Part of that was her rather bubbly outlook at everything in life, and she was excited about the snowbunny fashions that she would now have the chance to explore.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that she maked friends easily. Not me, but then again, I preferred to be alone most of the time. Alice took after Mom most of the time, and I took after Charlie despite not having his influence much of my life.

The house had only two bedrooms and one bathroom. I knew early on that I'd have to wake up earlier in the morning in order to get any time in the bathroom before Alice started her morning beauty regiment. We also had to share a bed, a closet, and a dresser. I didn't have much space in the dresser or the closet. Instead, I got my revenge by sleep talking to her all night.

Alice had thrown her suitcases on the bed and was already hanging up her clothes before I even got up to the room. I had been delayed by Charlie's announcement of our new vehicle. Alice had turned her nose up to the old, red Chevy truck, so she hadn't stayed long to look at it. She had her eyes on the faster sports cars that weren't good for driving around in wet and snowy climates. "How old is the truck?" I asked Charlie as I inspected it.

"To me it looks like it was made in the 50's, but don't you worry. I bought it off of Billy Black, and his son, Jacob, rebuilt the engine only recently. They don't make reliable vehicles like these anymore." He pat the truck once as I inspected it. "You do remember Billy, don't you?" he asked me curiously.

I paused halfway getting into the truck to remember. "Uh, yeah. He's the one you go fishing with," I suggested when I recognized the name fully.

"Yeah, him. He's now in a wheelchair, so his driving days are over. Jacob's only a year away from getting his license."

"Sorry to hear," I said as I climbed into the cab. Charlie handed me the keys, so I started up the engine and listened to the deafening roar. It sounded like it was running fine despite the noise. Unfortunately it seemed that old vehicles didn't have quiet engines. I turned off the engine and then asked him, "How much does Billy want for it?"

"Don't worry about it," Charlie said as he walked towards the house. "This is my homecoming gift to you and your sister."

I scoffed for a second not believing what I was hearing. "I told you that I would pay for it."

"I already told you it's a gift," he reminded me. Then he informed me, "By the way, you probably shouldn't drive it over fifty-five miles per hour because it can't handle more than that. And make sure you tell Alice that it's best she not attempt to drive it to Seattle since it's a gas guzzler and can't handle the speed." I nodded my head and then went upstairs with my two suitcases.

Somehow we got all of our stuff into the room and had time to spare. "Let's go for a drive in Tank," Alice suggested. She had decided to name our vehicle Tank since it was so large and noisy. "Maybe I can get an idea of a decent place around here to get a job so I can have money for shopping." Alice already knew about her limited possibilities in the area for shopping, but that still didn't curb her enthusiasm for her hobby.

Since Tank was rather beneath her, she insisted that I drive. I thought it was more of the fact that she was nervous about driving such a large vehicle considering her small size. Unfortunately we covered the whole town in less than thirty minutes, and in no time we were back home. Tomorrow we would start school, and that would keep the both of us busy for the next several months.


	2. That was Rude

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to the Twilight series.

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Charlie woke up before the both of us and was out of the bathroom in time for me to get ready. Alice took up more time than both Charlie and I, and I was afraid that she was going to run me late for our first day. Thankfully Charlie left for work before the both of us, so there was no need for making small talk with him early that morning while waiting for Alice.

We had located the school the night before while driving around. It was a rather strange set up of a number of buildings instead of one large one. I pulled up to the small parking lot in front of the first building and hoped that it was the front office, which to our luck was. The woman behind the desk, Mrs. Cope, gave us both our schedules and then handed us maps pointing out the easiest routes between all the buildings.

Once back in the truck, Alice and I started comparing our schedules only to find out that we didn't have any classes in common. It didn't seem to phase Alice much since she always made friends easily, but that left me all alone for most of the day fending for myself. Of course she would probably introduce me to all her new friends during lunch, which would be a relief.

My first class was English. From the moment I walked into the classroom all eyes were on me. Of course they would be interested in the new girls. Most of the people in the town had lived there their entire lives, and families would often stay for generations and intermarry each other. It probably was of interest to them to know who the police chief's daughters were.

Mrs. Cope had given Alice and I sheets that our teachers needed to sign and then be returned to her at the end of the day. Mr. Mason scribbled his signature and then pointed me to a desk in the back of the room. Despite being in the back of the room I was still the center of attention. I was grateful to Mr. Mason when he called their attention back to him.

After class a rather geeky kid came up to my desk. His dark, greasy hair and acne problem made me believe that he was probably desperate for more positive attention. "Hi, I'm Eric," he introduced himself. "You must be one of the new girls."

"Uh, yeah," I said throwing my notebook into my bag. "Bella."

"I thought I heard your name was Isabella," he stated.

"I prefer to go by Bella."

"Cool," he said grinning. His nervousness made the next sentence rushed, "Do need help finding your next class?"

"I think I know where I'm going," I said said holding up my map.

"You sure? Because I don't mind walking with you. I can tell you everything you need to know about Forks High," he said following me out the door. We both grabbed our coats on the way out and trudged out into the freezing rain. He ended up accompanying me most of the way to my class before he had to leave for another building.

When I got into the building I hung up my coat to hear someone say behind me, "That's a really great coat." I turned my head to find a girl who was only slightly taller than Alice but with dark, wildly curly hair. She smiled up at me and pointed out my coat.

"Oh, yeah," I said realizing she was talking to me. "My sister bought it for me when we realized we were moving out here."

"Yeah, I met her last class. She has great fashion sense. I'd love to go shopping with her some time," she told me walking into the classroom.

"I'm sure she'd love that since I'm not really a good shopping partner." The girl smiled at me and then waited for me to talk to the teacher. After we sat down she told me her name was Jessica. I thought she believed I was more like Alice, or perhaps she liked me because she realized she could talk all she wanted and I wouldn't cut in much.

After class I was introduced to one of her friends. He had been looking back at me for most of class, and I thought I remembered seeing him in my English class. "Hi, I'm Mike," he said turning the charm on me. From the way that Jessica had been talking about him before class, I knew she had a crush on him, but it seemed he wasn't interested in her in that way. "You're Isabella Swan," he said more as a statement than a question.

"Um, Bella. I prefer Bella."

He got a goofy smirk on his face as he said, "Cool,...Bella." I suddenly felt very awkward around him.

Most of the school day was rather uninteresting from that point until lunch. The school had split the lunch periods for school into two, and the juniors and seniors ate during the last lunch together, meaning I got to have lunch with Alice. "Bella," she said gesturing me over to a table where Jessica, Mike, and Eric were now sitting. She starting pointing at everyone at the table and she said their names. "This is Tyler, Ben, Conner, Lee, Samantha, Angela, Eric, Lauren, Mike I guess, and Jessica, who you already know."

Jessica waved at me like she was my best friend, so I explained, "Yeah. We have trig and Spanish together."

They allowed me to sit at their table and kept asking us questions about living in Phoenix and our lives. Alice, being my best friend and her eccentric self, always did her best to deflect their attention from me to keep me from embarrassment. As I chewed over my meal I looked around the room at the other students. One table in particular attracted my attention. Most of the tables were full of chatty people, but this table only consisted of only four individuals who were mostly silent and had not touched their meals.

While that initially attracted my attention, what interested me the most was their similar features and yet how different they looked from the rest of us. Their faces were all similar looking with sharp features, and they were all inhumanly good looking. Yet they were all very pale with very dark circles etched under their eyes. "Who are they?" I asked out of the blue bringing the entire table's attention onto myself. Alice turned around and looked at them quickly before turning around with the same question scrawled across her face.

Jessica was the one to tell us, "That's the Cullens. They're all Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster children." It seemed strange that they would all be foster children and yet look so alike. "The tall blond girl is Rosalie Hale. She's dating Emmett McCarty, the muscular guy next to her with the dark curly hair."

"Who's the cute blond guy?" Alice asked with a sheepish smile on her face. It was clear to me that she thought him the most attractive guy in the whole school.

Jessica glanced up from her seat next to me in the direction of the Cullens before answering her, "The guy who always looks in pain is Jasper Whitlock."

"And what about the bronze haired one?" I asked her since she hadn't mentioned him yet.

There was bitterness in her tone as she said, "That's Edward Masen. He's good looking, but no girl here is good enough for him." I got the feeling she was once attracted to him but was turned down. And then as if he knew he was being talked about, he locked eyes with me for a second before turning his attention away again. But for that one second it was like a volt of electricity had hit me.

Alice kept turning around every so many minutes, I assumed to catch glimpses of Jasper. Finally I leaned in towards her and asked her, "Why the sudden interest in Jasper?"

"He looks so sad," she commented with compassion for him. "I want to make him feel good." She smiled at me in that way she always does when she has set herself up for a large project. Normally I would only see that smile when she wanted to play "Bella Barbie", but she had such a soft spot for her friends that she often took it upon herself to cheer everyone up when they were down. "I bet he's just waiting for a woman who will make him happy and sweep him off his feet."

"I thought you wanted to be swept off your feet," I reminded her of the fairy tale romances she often fantasized about.

"I do, but I have to sweep him off his feet first." The smirk never left her face as she glanced back at him. We both noticed how he was now standing up with his tray of uneaten food in hand. Alice did the same and announced to me, "Time to go find a way to talk to him." I know she wasn't finished with her meal yet, but she clearly planned on bumping into him when they both got to the trash cans. I watched as Edward leaned over and said something to Jasper, who in turn sat down again. Alice had noticed also, and she sat down. "Let me know when he stands up again," she requested of me as she munched away on her carrots. Unfortunately for her, he was still sitting there by the end of the lunch hour when Alice was forced to get up from the table and move on to her next class.

I finally came face-to-face with one of the Cullen's the next hour in biology. Edward was sitting at the table with the only open chair, so Mr. Banner asked me to sit next to Edward after handing me a textbook. I could see his black eyes staring at me continuously as I walked down the aisle towards him. Being the rather klutzy person I was, I tripped a couple of times on my way down the aisle, so I didn't have much of a chance to keep my eyes on him. But as soon as I got to the table I could tell already that he had taken a disliking to me. His posture had gone complete straight and he was leaning away from me. One hand was gripping onto his stool while the other gripped into a tight fist resting onto his leg. And I'm pretty sure he was holding his breath or maybe not even breathing at all.

When I sat down he leaned even further away from me, so I took the time to silently sniff myself. As far as I knew, I smelled okay. My strawberry shampoo was about the most fragrant scent on me. Slowly I looked over at him only to find his black eyes looking at me with the most hardened gaze that it made me turn my face away from him. We sat there like that for the whole hour until the bell rang, when he jumped up and left the room in an almost inhuman speed. I wondered what it was that I had done to make him dislike me so much.

As I headed towards the door I heard Mike call after me, "Hey, Bella, slow down." I stopped and turned around to wait for him. When he caught up, we headed out towards our last class of the day, which just happened to be PE. "What did you say to Edward to make him dislike you so much?"

I was rather taken back by the question. So someone else had noticed Edward's aloof behavior. "I didn't say anything or do anything to him."

"That was really weird because I've never seen him act like that before." I replayed Mike's words over in my mind again as I realized that this behavior hadn't been normal for Edward. What had I done to make Edward dislike me so much? "Don't worry about it," Mike commented as if reading my mind. I must have allowed my emotions show as I contemplated. "He's bizarre anyway." I gave Mike a small smile and waited for him to leave for the locker room, but instead he just kept talking. "Hey, several of us want to go to the movies this weekend or next, depending upon the weather. Do you want to go?"

I fidgeted for a few seconds before I asked, "Is Alice invited?"

"Yeah," he said almost as an afterthought. "Of course she's invited. Everyone from our lunch table is invited."

"Okay. I guess I'll go then," I said quietly while looking down at my feet. Finally he stopped talking and allowed me to find Coach Clapp.

After school I found Alice standing by the cafeteria doors chatting with Jessica and Angela. Lauren was following behind me rather perturbed. One look at Lauren's face and Jessica apologized and left immediately without Angela, who apologized for her friends behavior before heading off in a different direction than Jessica and Lauren had gone. "What's with Lauren?" Alice asked me.

"PE."

Alice gasped and asked me, "What accident or accidents did you cause in PE?"

"I hit a volleyball into the back of her head," I explained, which only caused Alice to burst out in laughter. I waited a few seconds until I also laughed with her. I really shouldn't have played any sports, contact or not. We were walking in the direction of the front office when I asked her, "So, did you find a way to talk to Jasper?"

"No. I asked around and it turns out he's a senior so lunch is the only time I'll have to interact with him."

"Too bad," I said really meaning it.

We walked into the front office with our sheets to turn into Mrs. Cope. As I opened the door I heard a velvety male voice ask, "Is there anything open at that time?"

I could tell it was Edward from the messy bronze hair. "I'm sorry, everything else is now full. You'll just have to stay in that biology class," Mrs. Cope explained to him.

I wondered if he was trying to change classes because of me, to which I got my confirmation when he informed Mrs. Cope, "I guess there's no point in trying," as he angrily eyed me. He straightened up and then brushed past me briskly with the same angry glare.

"How rude," Alice commented quietly to me in an angry tone.

She would have run after him to scold him if I hadn't grabbed onto her arm and held her in place. "Let it go," I requested of her before taking her sheet from her and handing it to Mrs. Cope. We had to endure her questions on what we thought of our first day and if the map helped before we were able to get back outside again.

As we got close to the parking lot Edward drove past with three passengers in his shiny Volvo. I noticed how Edward kept his gaze on the road, but I thought out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper glance at Alice. "He looked at me," she squealed in joy confirming my suspicions about Jasper, but then her tone got serious when she informed me, "I would have yelled at Edward for being so cruel to you."

"I know, but it obviously wouldn't have done any good," I commented. We were now crossing the parking lot on our way to our truck.

"He has absolutely no right to be that way with you. What could you have done to him? You're one of the most timid people I know."

"I don't know what I did," I stated. On the way to the grocery store I explained to her what had happened in biology class and what Mike had said before PE started. She sat there with her arms crossed over her chest and and a scowl on her face.

Finally when she got her chance to speak she said, "That certainly doesn't give him the right to be that rude. Tomorrow I'm going to confront him about it."

"No!" I practically shouted. Calming down I stated, "I'll deal with him on my own tomorrow."

As we pulled into the grocery store Alice squealed, "Yea, shopping!"

"We're grocery shopping, Alice," I said laughing at her.

She turned her nose up in the air and commented, "Well, if I can't shop for clothes, then food will have to do." I just continued to laugh at her.

The previous day we found out that there wasn't really much of anything in the house, so we volunteered to do the grocery shopping and cooking on the condition that Charlie does the dishes. Before we head home, Alice insisted that I take her by the pharmacy to pick up an application since the pharmacy seemed like the least offensive job in Forks for her.

Thankfully for me, Charlie kept his talking to a minimum and Alice to a maximum, so I wasn't questioned on my first day at school beyond the simple, "How was your day?" question Charlie asked when he got into the house. We emailed our mother that evening after noticing three worried emails all within the last twenty-four hours, and I kept my part to a minimum there also.

Alice made sure not to say anything more about the Cullen's until we laid in bed that night. "If Edward doesn't start acting civilly towards you, I'll take care of him for you."

"I know," I said turning over onto my side so that my back was to her.

"I hope Jasper isn't like that." I didn't know what to say since I don't read people well, so I didn't say anything at all and hoped that Alice would fall asleep soon.


	3. I'm Alice and This is Bella

I was ready to confront him the next day during lunch. I figured I could ask him to go outside so I could have some words with him. Instead I found the table void of him. "He's not here today," Alice said coming up behind me as I stood frozen just inside the room.

"Could you buy me something to drink?" I asked her as I walked over to the table. Alice knew that when I got upset I lost my appetite, so she happily grabbed me a drink.

This time she sat looking at the Cullen table and stole glances every couple of minutes at their table. I turned around once to find Jasper looking our direction when Alice wasn't looking, but when he noticed I was watching him, he looked over at the sickeningly annoying couple next to him who were displaying too much public affection. I could have imagined it, but perhaps he was just as attracted to Alice as she was to him.

It took her only fifteen minutes to finish her meal before she turned to me with a plan clearly on her mind. "Bella, I think we need to introduce ourselves to everyone in the cafeteria," she announced with that smirk of hers.

"Can we not?" I whined not wanting to be dragged around the room and embarrassed by her behavior. It would be fine for her to introduce herself because that was just her type of personality, but for her to drag me around just made it downright embarrassing.

She stood up determinedly and grabbed my arm pulling me up from my chair and across to the next table. "I would chew out Edward for you, so please just help me find a way to introduce myself to Jasper," she begged me with her hands clasped together in front of her. I just rolled my eyes as I agreed to her silly plan because I knew that she would do nearly the same for me.

She decided to start on the left side of the room and move to the right side leaving their table in the back for last. Every table was nearly the same speech, "Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Alice Swan, and this is my sister, Bella. We just moved here from Phoenix." Then most everyone would tell us their names. She would then thank them and say that she hoped she get to know them better through the semester before we moved onto the next table.

Only five minutes before the end of lunch we got to the table she had been aiming for all lunch period. Rosalie glared at us, Emmett looked up at us with a completely blank look on his face, and Jasper seemed a bit surprised as he shifted in his seat to sit up straighter. His eyes never left Alice except when she introduced me, but as soon as he looked at me he his attention turned to her again. After her speech she waited for them to introduce themselves. Both guys opened their mouths to say something but Rosalie beat them to it by saying in a rather snooty tone, "We like to keep to ourselves." Emmett quietly chided Rosalie while Jasper turned his attention to the couple.

Alice raised her eyebrow, and I was pretty sure the next thing she was about to do was lay into Rosalie. I acted quickly as I grabbed Alice's upper arm and pulled her in the opposite direction of the table apologizing, "I'm sorry. We won't bother you again," while emphasizing the word 'bother'.

As I pulled Alice away she grouchily asked, "Why didn't you let me tell her off?"

"Because this family obviously does think it's above everyone else. First Edward and now Rosalie. I don't care how cute you think he is or how much you want to cheer him up because he clearly hangs out with the snobbiest people in town. And maybe it's best not to find out if he's just like them."

"But that Emmett guy was standing up to Rosalie," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but Jasper didn't say anything at all." We were now back at our table, where all eyes were turned on us. "Alice thought it would be proper to introduce us to everyone," I explained to them all.

"And one table thought they were too good for us," Alice said bitterly.

We both looked behind us to find Rosalie glaring at us. I didn't pay any attention to Jasper at that moment. "Yeah, well, that's normal for the Cullen's," Jessica stated sourly. "They always think they're too good for everyone in this town." The more outspoken people at the table agreed with her before getting up to head for class.

Alice seemed rather disappointed now instead of angry. I hoped by the next day she would find something else to latch onto. I even contemplated taking her shopping for the weekend because I had extra money and she wanted me to have a better wardrobe. We followed behind our table towards the trash cans to dump her lunch leftovers and my emptied can. I could have just left her to do it, but I decided that maybe I would stay close to her in case she decided that since I wasn't hovering over her she could run back to Rosalie and say something snide.

As she carelessly tossed her plate and plastic silverware into the trash I looked up to find Jasper there at the same moment. He nodded to me and then said to Alice as she looked up and noticed him, "I'm sorry, m'am." He had a bit of a southern drawl. "I'm Jasper."

"Alice," she said dreamily as she stayed there keeping up the line of people.

He moved forward and towards the door but hovered by as he explained, "Sometimes Rosalie can be a bit rude. I can assure you that not all of us feel the same way as she does." He gave a very quick and small smile that seemed so unsure as if it had been a long time since he had made the facial gesture.

"It's okay," Alice dismissed it as if nothing had happened at all.

I felt like I was in their way, so I said quietly to them, "I should be getting to class. I'll meet you outside the cafeteria after school." Alice nodded to me and smiled a genuine smile. I walked ahead of them and made sure to look back before I walked out the doors. They were following me slowly, talking between themselves. From what I could see, he was hanging on her every word.

After school I found Alice standing alone with a huge smile on her face. "Did your conversation with Mr. Depressed go well?" I teased her.

She spun around in a circle with her hands up in the air as she shouted "He's wonderful!" I laughed at her. For barely knowing the guy, she certainly had quite a crush on him. "He's such a gentleman, and I love his accent. He was originally from Houston."

"That's a long ways off from Forks," I commented.

"Yeah, but I guess he's Mrs. Cullen's nephew, so that's how he's here. I bet you didn't know that Rosalie's his twin sister."

"Nope."

"Yeah, and she's really protective of him." I just nodded my head. We were finally at the truck, and I tossed my book bag into the cab next to Alice. "I was actually late to class because I was talking to him for so long."

"Way to make a good impression on your second day," I teased her.

Alice being Alice, turned her nose up at me and stuck out her tongue playfully. Then her face straightened into a very fearful look. "Don't tell Charlie about this, please," she begged me. "I don't need him ruining things before I get a chance to date Jasper."

"What makes you think he'll disapprove of Jasper?" I asked her curiously.

"It seems like everyone in this town dislikes the Cullen's, and for good reason with Rosalie and Edward, so I'm afraid Charlie will also oppose him."

"Well, if something happens, Jasper will have to meet Charlie at some time. Just make sure Charlie doesn't have his gun holster on," I joked with her.

The next two days Alice waited until Jasper got up from his seat before doing the same. They traded some words before heading in separate directions.

By Friday things were abuzz around our table about going to see a movie. Alice was sitting next to me, and she leaned in to say, "I'm thinking of inviting Jasper to the movies with us."

I loved my sister, but sometimes she'd get hair brained ideas like our mother did. Not wanting to sound too critical, I pointed out to her, "He probably won't be able to join us if Rosalie finds out."

"I know," she said casually taking a bite of her apple. "But the gesture is nice, and it goes to show him that I want to be his friend." She gave me a kind smile before turning her attention back to Jasper's table. Jasper looked up from his full tray and smiled slightly at us before Rosalie hissed something at him causing him to look down at his tray again. Next to him, Emmett, despite being so intimidating looking, looked rather disappointed for his foster brother and leaned over to whisper something to Jasper that seemed to make him a little happy.

As most of the students filed out of the cafeteria, I followed Alice towards the entrance. We passed Jasper on our way and he quietly called out to Alice. She turned her head and smiled at him, and suddenly I felt like I was intruding on a rather intimate moment. Turning my head around I heard her say to him, "My friends and I are going out to the movies tonight. Would you like to join us?"

I turned my head to see a myriad of emotions from concern to hope to disappointment. He thought for several seconds before telling Alice in a rather disappointed tone, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be allowed to." Alice nodded her head rapidly several times with a defeated look on her face. "Maybe the next time." And with that said, Alice's mood was immediately positive again. There was still hope, or at least he kept feeding her hope even in what seems like a rather impossible situation.

And she was still positive when we got to the movies despite the teasing she got from Lauren. I guess Lauren had decided to take a disliking to Alice because she was my sister or something like that. We had all met each other outside of Mike's parents' shop to discuss carpooling arrangements. When Mike asked if they knew if anyone else was coming, Jessica asked Alice, "What did Jasper say when you asked him?"

All eyes turned on Alice as she answered, "He's busy tonight." That wasn't the full truth, but we didn't need to keep reinforcing the idea that the Cullen's thought themselves too good to be hanging out with the rest of us. For sure, Rosalie and maybe Edward, were that way.

"Of course he wouldn't come. If he's too good for everyone else, then why wouldn't that included you?" Lauren asked in a snobby tone. Nearly everyone froze at her words unsure of how to respond.

Thankfully Alice was always good at diffusing such a situation. "I do have a promise from him that he'll join me another time. He's really a great guy once you get to know him." She smiled a genuine smile at Lauren, no trace of malice anywhere in her words or gestures. That stopped Lauren for a whole three minutes before she was talking about it again with Jessica loud enough for everyone else to hear.

They decided on an action/thriller movie and plenty of snacks to keep us feed until the end of the movie. As I waited for Alice to choose what kind of candy she wanted I noticed some boys walking through the lobby after buying their tickets. They appeared to be Native American, and Charlie was friends with several people on the reservation, including his best friends Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. One in particular I recognized from years ago when Alice and I would come to visit and Charlie would take us fishing with him and his friends by the reservation.

I tapped Alice on the back of the shoulder and said to her, "Do you remember Charlie's friends?"

"Yeah," Alice said straightening up and looking in the direction I was looking. Just as she looked up the boy that looked familiar to me lit up in recognition of the both of us.

He approached us calling out our names. "Do you remember me?" he asked.

Alice was the first one to speak, "Jacob Black, of course I remember you. How's your dad and sisters?"

"My dad's doing okay despite getting confined to the wheelchair, and my sisters are away at college."

"You did a great job with the truck's engine," I chimed in. "It's a shame your dad had to sell the truck, but we're glad that we have something to drive around in."

"Don't care much for the cruiser?" he asked teasing us.

Alice giggled as she asked, "Would you like to be taken to school in the back of the cruiser every day?" He laughed in agreement. Mike was gesturing to us that they were getting ready to go into the theater, so Alice asked him, "Do you want to join us for the movie?" He and his two friends agreed to sit with us, especially since they knew a couple of the other people accompanying us.

On the way home from the movie when it was just the two of us, Alice made sure to point out, "I think Jacob is attracted to you."

"He is not," I combated her.

"He is too. Did you see the way he looked at you for most of the night. Most of the boys look at you like that around here, except for my Jasper." She said his name in a dreamlike state.

"They do not," I protested, my voice cracking as I said it.

Alice got a sheepish grin on her face as she corrected me, "You just don't know the signs, but, yes, there are guys who are attracted to you."

"They're just staring at you."

"No, they aren't. You're the quiet, mysterious one, so they're more interested in you. Trust me about this. The guys up here are much different from the guys back in Phoenix."

"Whatever!" I said brushing off her comments. Sometimes Alice went over the top to flatter me.


	4. Anaphase

Monday came around again. It started out like any typical Monday except that when I stepped out of the building on my way to trigonometry I noticed that the rain had turned to snow. "Yuck," I whined aloud. I always hated snow for its cold, wet, mushiness.

"You don't like the snow?" Mike asked me as he walked beside me. Since we had all the same classes he typically walked with me to the next classroom. He bent over and scooped up some of the snow that had fallen on the ground and not melted. "This is the best stuff because it's so wet it clumps." He demonstrated by making a snowball.

Just then a snowball hit him upside the head and splattered sending several wet pieces at me. I rubbed my face dry before turning around to see Eric walking in the wrong direction to his next class. It was a bit juvenile, in my opinion, to be throwing snowballs, but Mike chased after Eric and threw his own starting a small fight. I used the opportunity to get to class before Mike came back and insisted on introducing me to a snowball meant for me.

Unfortunately the snow hadn't stopped any by the time trigonometry was done, and at that point the entire student body was throwing the wet, mushy things at each other in a full out war. Even Alice had gotten involved, and she laughed heartily at me as I used my folder to protect myself from the flying objects.

The cafeteria was abuzz with plans on having a full scale war complete with snow forts after school if the snow stayed long enough. I listened for ways to avoid Mike's snow wars so intently I hadn't noticed the Cullen's until Alice pointed them out to me. Sitting at the table again was Edward, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. I had waited all week to confront him, but now that I had my chance, I was extremely nervous.

"I actually hit Jasper in the chest with a snowball," Alice bragged to me as she ate her spinach salad. I had begged out of lunch opting instead for only a bottle of lemonade to settle my stomach. "He just smiled at me before he lobbed a rather weak one back."

"That's nice," I said as I twirled the cap under my fingers. My eyes every few seconds darted to the table in the far corner where the Cullen's sat and talked as they brushed the snow out of their hair.

A hand waved in front of me bringing me out of my thoughts. Alice was sat there staring at me as she waited for my attention to return back to her. "Are you going to be okay in biology?"

"Yeah," I said half-heartedly. "He's the one with the problem."

I dreaded the walk to biology. Alice kept trying to give me a pep talk, but nothing she said at the moment could calm my nerves. He was sitting there staring straight ahead as if in deep concentration. I could feel his eyes watch me as I walked to my seat, but I refused to look at him.

When Mr. Banner got into the room he announced we would be doing a lab today with our partner. We were to identify the various stages of mitosis displayed on the five slides and put them in order. After the box of slides was placed on our table, Edward turned to me and said, "My name is Edward Cullen, by the way." I just stared at him wondering about his sudden change in attitude. "And I believe I heard that you are Bella Swan."

"How did you know I like to be called Bella?" I asked confused because everyone else kept calling me Isabella.

"I heard around the grapevine that you like to be called Bella," he answered before picking up the box of slides and placing the first on onto the microscope. "Anaphase," he announced.

He went to take the slide off of the microscope as I reached out my hand towards the instrument asking, "Can I take a look?" The moment our fingers touched it felt like a spark of electricity flew through my nerves. It was kind of like a static shock only not as painful. And I also noticed in those few seconds of contact how very cold Edward's hand was.

We both pulled our hands away from each other immediately. "Sure," he answered after a couple of seconds before carefully sliding the microscope closer to me.

I looked through the microscope to find that he was correct. "It's anaphase." Edward just nodded his head before writing down the information in his notebook. I put in a new slide and looked through the microscope before announcing, "prophase."

He gestured to the microscope, so I slid it towards him making sure not to touch him again. He looked through it and agreed. On the next slide I decided to just agree with him since he seemed to understand what he was doing. We were done in a matter of minutes while the rest of our classmates continued working on their labs.

"So, I heard that you moved here to help out your father?" he said breaking the silence.

I looked at him to find him watching me. "Well, Alice is doing it more for that reason. Have you talked to her about it?"

"Jasper told me. I guess she's been talking to him." I could detect the annoyance in his voice and it made me wary.

"Yeah." It grew quiet, so I felt the need to interject, "He seems like a really great guy. Alice really enjoys his company, and she likes cheering people up."

"Jasper was not depressed before," Edward informed me with a rather flat voice. It was strange, but I believed I saw his now golden eyes start to darken.

I didn't have any time to ponder that thought because Mr. Banner came over at that moment asking, "Are you two done already?"

"Yes, sir," Edward answered as he turned his attention back to Mr. Banner.

Mr. Banner smiled at me and then said to Edward, "I hoped you allowed Bella the chance to help you out."

"She identified three out of the five slides," Edward answered him before his eyes turned towards the window.

Mr. Banner then proceeded to ask me about my biology classes in Phoenix. Before walking off, Mr. Banner suggested that we could do our homework from our other classes while we waited for everyone else to finish. I pulled out my trigonometry book and a notebook assuming that Edward wasn't interested in talking with me anymore after that strangely rude comment he made. Instead I felt his eyes watch me again, before he commented, "You and Alice are not much alike."

"We aren't," I answered him as I looked up at him. "She's almost the opposite of me in many things."

"You both seem to be unable to stay away from what's dangerous for you."

That made me wonder what in the world he was referring to. "Are you referring to Jasper and Alice again?"

"Partially." His tone suggested he was a bit bored by the conversation. "If Alice knew what was best for her, she'd stay away from Jasper."

I could feel anger welling up in me. Thankfully it hadn't been strong enough to make me cry. Oh, that was another difference between me and Alice: when I got really angry I would cry. I tried to keep my tone of voice under control as I asked him, "Why should she stay away from him when he clearly wants to spend time with her?"

"Because he doesn't know how to control himself very well," Edward answered me sounding completely honest. "If Alice wants to keep him happy, then she should stay away from him as soon as possible. Our family doesn't mix well with most people."

That reminded me of that day in the cafeteria when Rosalie snapped at Alice for trying to introduce herself. From what I could tell about the four Cullen's, two of them didn't get along with other people as well as the other two. Should I heed his warning and tell Alice to stay away from Jasper, or should I assume this was just another ploy by one of the unsocial Cullen's to keep the rest of their family from leaving them alone by befriending other people?

I opened my mouth to say something more to him, but I could tell that he was no longer interested in listening to me because he had now turned his attention away from me again. Instead I whispered mostly to myself, "I want my sister to be happy, and if Jasper hasn't done anything horrible and will respect her, then I don't see what's wrong with them being friends. She just wants to be his friend." Edward's eyes shifted towards me, but he only watched me out of the corner of his eyes. Taking this as a hint that he wouldn't respond to me, I just went back to my trigonometry homework.

As I drove Alice home from school I told her about my strange conversation with Edward. She remained quiet until the end of the story. "Do you think Jasper's broken hearts before?"

"I don't know," I answered her honestly. "But I'm thinking that you should just be friends with him until you really know him in case he does have a shady past."

"Sure," Alice said sounding a little disappointed, but I knew her well enough to know that she'd seriously take my advice into consideration. I always was the more practical one of the two of us and she knew it.


	5. No Blood No Foul

The next morning as I walked to Tank I fell down down a few more times than normal because of the icy conditions. We had freezing rain overnight, which certainly made things more difficult for my balance problem. We obviously never had to deal with these conditions in Phoenix. "Do you want me to drive?" Alice offered trying to snatch the keys out of my hands.

"No way I'm letting you drive," I informed her as I held the keys above my head. I may be short at 5'4", but she was even shorter than I am at only 4'11". "You drive too fast for even perfect conditions. Besides, I thought you didn't want to get caught driving Tank around anyway."

Alice crossed her arms across her chest and retorted, "Well, maybe I'm afraid that with how slow you drive normally, you'll be driving extra slow today."

"You're right. We are going to be driving slower because I don't want to end up in the morgue." I jumped into the truck before she could say anything more and turned the engine drowning out anything she'd have to say with the engine's deafening roar. I watched as Alice huffed before climbing into the passenger side and buckling her seatbelt.

We got to school with no problems. I was actually surprised that it was easier to drive on ice than I had thought it would be. "Maybe Charlie put snow chains on the tires," Alice suggested as if reading my mind. She jumped out of the cab and ran around towards the back of the truck before yelling at me to join her. "Isn't that wonderful of him?" she asked pointing to the tires. Sure enough there were snow chains on our tires. He must have put them on before leaving for work this morning.

A gasp from Alice brought my attention back to her. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared straight at me, and her jaw had dropped open. The movement behind her then brought my focus to Jasper, who was standing a good fifty feet away, sprinting towards us with an angry Edward following closely behind. "Bella, something really bad is going to happen!" Alice informed me.

"Is it one of your premonitions?" I asked her, to which she nodded frantically. Have I mentioned that Alice gets premonitions? It's not like she's a full out psychic or anything, but there are times when she can feel that something really good or really bad will happen. "Maybe it's because Jasper's coming this way and Edward's chasing him down," I commented pointing over her shoulder noticing how quickly Jasper was approaching us.

She didn't even get a chance to turn around when we heard the sound of screeching tires. I turned to see Tyler Crowley's van sliding on the ice. He had been going too fast, and I assume that he must have tried to slam on his brakes. Then I realized why Alice had that horrible premonition: the van was heading straight for us. My limbs were frozen in place, and I think the same could be said for Alice's because she hadn't moved either.

Then I heard a squeak come from Alice as something slammed into her and pulled her towards the front of our truck. Another object hit me just as hard knocking the breath out of me, and I could feel myself slump to the ground and bang my head against the icy pavement. Everything else seemed like a blur except that I was very aware of a heavy body laying atop my own shielding me from any wreckage.

When the sound of crashing metal stopped I could hear people screaming and Alice's voice above them all shouting my name. I opened my eyes and looked into the black eyes of Edward Cullen. "Do you wear contacts?" I asked him, to which he frowned.

"You were almost killed and the first thing you ask me is if I wear contacts," he half laughed. "What about my safety?"

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice that your eyes are black again. They were black the first day of school and gold yesterday." I tried to sit up despite him still laying atop of me, but he pushed me back down.

"I think you hit your head pretty hard," he commented before rolling onto his knees all the while still holding me down.

Alice was standing over his shoulder with a panic-stricken look upon her face. "Bella, are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked frantically as she got down on her hands and knees besides me.

"I'm afraid that she hit her head when I knocked her out of the way," Edward stated as he stood up. He looked towards the road. Seconds later I could hear the ambulance sirens in the distance. Great, now Charlie would also be panicking!

The paramedics insisted on making sure I went to the hospital to get my head checked out. I guess it didn't help that Edward and Alice were both insisting upon it also. "Why doesn't Edward have to go?" I asked aloud. "He was the one protecting me, and there's all kinds of glass all over. Surely he got hurt by some of that shrapnel."

"I guess I didn't get cut," he stated as they put my gurney into the ambulance. Alice climbed in besides me and gave a meaningful look to Jasper before they closed the doors.

The trip to the hospital was filled with Alice's chatter. "I'm so glad that Jasper and Edward were so close when it happened or otherwise one or both of us would have been killed. That was so scary! I seriously can't believe this happened! Mom is going to freak out when she hears this!"

"No!" I said sitting up abruptly only to get pushed down by the paramedic. I lay there and shook my finger at Alice stating, "You will not tell Renee anything because nothing happened, and you know that she'll worry incessantly even though nothing happened."

"Fine, I won't," she conceded.

Charlie was there waiting for us when we got to the hospital. Alice told him the whole story while a technician took me to get an X-ray. Tyler was wheeled in shortly after with several cuts to his face. If the blood wasn't dried on his face I probably would have passed out from the sight and smell of it.

"I'm really sorry about this, Bella," Tyler kept repeating to me.

I had to continually reassure him, "It's okay, Tyler. You got hurt worse than I did anyway."

That didn't seem to do any good. Later he said to me, "I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

"She said that it was okay," Edward said as he came into the room.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry about hurting you too," Tyler stated pointing at Edward.

"No blood no foul," Edward said as he sat down in a chair near the bed I was sitting on.

Charlie entered shortly after with a very handsome doctor following behind him. The doctor was blond and very young looking. Strangely he had some of the same similar features as Edward, including the angular features, the dark circles under his eyes, and the golden eyes. "Isabella, how are you feeling right now?" he asked me sitting down on a stool. "I'm Dr. Cullen." He pulled a small light from his pocket and shined it in my eyes as he waved a finger in front of my face and watched where my eyes followed. "You don't have a concussion, but you will probably have headaches today. You can just take an over-the-counter painkiller to get rid of them." He stopped waving his finger and looked over at Tyler saying, "Unfortunately your injuries are a little worse."

"I was lucky enough to have Edward there to help me," I commented to Dr. Cullen. "And Alice was lucky enough to have Jasper save her or otherwise we both would have been in here for worse injuries."

"Jasper and Edward are your boys, aren't they, Carlisle?" Charlie asked Carlisle.

Edward stood up and introduced himself to Charlie, "I'm Edward Masen Cullen, sir."

"Thank you for saving her," Charlie said curtly to him before turning to Tyler and stating, "And as for you, I'm going to make sure you have your license revoked." This starts off another round of apologies from Tyler that Edward obviously doesn't care to listen to because he left with Carlisle following behind him.

I finally got Charlie to also leave a few minutes later only to hear him say, "Bells, I think you should call your mother and let her know you're okay."

"Did you tell her?" I asked rather upset. I had expected this behavior from Alice, not Charlie.

He looked very sorry, so I couldn't stay upset with him for long. "I'm sorry. I thought she should know."

"It's fine, dad. I'll call her back." We found Alice sitting in the waiting room alone and looking slightly upset. Unfortunately I couldn't ask her what was bothering her since I needed to call Renee and calm her down.

I never really did get the chance to ask Alice until later that night when we were getting ready for bed. "Hey, is there something wrong?" I ask her noticing she'd been strangely quiet this afternoon and evening.

She threw her pillow onto the bed in frustration before flopping down on the bed. "What's Edward's problem?"

"Huh?"

"About a couple of minutes before you and Charlie came out to the waiting room I was talking to Jasper and thanking him for rescuing me. Then Edward comes out along with their guardian, whose name I think is Carlisle. Anyway, Edward says something to Jasper very quietly. Carlisle must have really good hearing because I saw him nod in agreement but I couldn't hear a word they were saying and I was standing closer. Then Carlisle told Jasper to come to his office when he was finished talking to me, and he and Edward walked off. Jasper then apologized to me and said that his family had forbidden him from talking to me because of something that happened in the past."

"Did he tell you what exactly happened?" I asked cutting her short.

She fingered the blanket as she talked, her gaze never looking up towards me. "No, but I guess that's what Edward had been alluding to when he talked to you yesterday. But I can't imagine that Jasper's a bad person. He's always been really nice to me, and he saved my life today. How can he be a jerk?" She practically shouted the last question, so I moved to sit next to her on the bed and hugged her. Sobs started to break forth from her lips as she asked me, "Why can't we just be friends? It's not like I'm asking to marry him or anything."

"They must have their reasons," I stated not fully knowing what else to tell her. Inside I was angry at them for being so rude and mysterious about everything. The least they could do was tell Alice what it was that kept Jasper away from her. "Maybe it's a good thing that you're staying away from Jasper if he's not willing to tell you his reasons," I suggested to her and instantly regretted it even though it was the truth.

"He can't tell me because they won't allow him to!" she said angrily. "Stupid Cullen's!" Alice said nothing more but continued crying until she fell asleep.

I had trouble falling asleep that night because my mind was buzzing with thoughts about what Alice was going through. I didn't know if I should just leave the situation alone or if I should have a talk with Edward. But then I remembered that I had told Alice not to get too attached to Jasper, so I decided that I should keep to my statements and stay out of this even though I knew it was hurting Alice. Right now even I hated the Cullen's.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and so many people putting my story on their alerts or favorites lists. I have to admit that I was doing a lot of reading this week instead of writing because I've been looking through everyone's stories.


	6. You're on My Rez

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to the Twilight series.

–

A month passed by with Alice growing more depressed each day. It was also clear, or at least from my prospective, that Jasper was also disappointed with his family's decision. Often at lunch I would look up to catch either he or Alice, or both, staring at each other from across the cafeteria. The other Cullen's seemed to notice also because I could often see the cross looks on Rosalie's and Edward's faces.

Edward wasn't any help to the problem. The day after the accident I approached him before biology to talk about it only to get shot down. Before I even opened my mouth he stated that he would not discuss the issue because I didn't know all the circumstances and he did. He then proceeded to completely ignore me for the next month.

But as much as Alice's situation was hurting me, I had problems of my own. Ever since the accident I have had Tyler Crawley following me around like a lost puppy dog. And every time he sees me he feels the need to apologize and make up for what happened. And every time I assure him that since I am fine there was no need for him to keep apologizing. I don't know why he doesn't apologize to Alice.

"Face it, Bella," Alice started in after one of my rants about Tyler. "That boy likes you."

"Sure, he likes me but not you," I scoffed at her.

"You just don't know how attractive you are," Alice tried to reassure me. It's not like I haven't had this conversation with her over and over. I just wish she'd understand that I have a hard time grasping the concept that someone would be attracted to me over her when in Phoenix that was never the case. If it could possibly be true, there must be something seriously wrong with the guys up here. Maybe it's all the rain.

About a month before prom I was sitting in biology doodling when Mike walked up to me and leaned onto the counter. "Hey, Bella," he stuttered slightly. I looked up and noticed he seemed a bit nervous about something.

"Hi," I said back lamely.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to prom with me." The words hung heavily in the air.

I hadn't thought much about prom. Alice would be excited about it if it weren't for her depression over a certain Cullen, and I never really did like going to dances. Not to mention the fact that I really can't dance without my klutziness getting in the way.

Besides me I heard the strange sound of cracking wood. When I turned towards the direction I saw Edward sitting there gripping on to the table rather hard, but there is no possible way he could cause the table to crack. His eyes were coal black again, which always made me nervous. I don't think he was paying any attention to me since he was looking straight ahead at the front of the classroom where Mr. Banner was talking with another student.

I turned my attention back to Mike. "Um, well, I kind of already agreed to go with Alice to Seattle that day," I lied to him trying to hide my face. I was a horrible liar, and I was afraid that if I continued looking at him he'd see right through me.

I could hear the disappointment in Mike's voice as he asked, "Do you think you could get out of it?"

"I'm afraid not. What Alice wants, Alice will stop at nothing to get." Now I just need to get Alice to lie along with me. Thankfully Mike has the next class with me, so I'll have time to get to Alice before he does.

He shifted his weight away from the table, but I didn't hear him leave. "Well, could you at least come to the beach this Saturday."

"Beach?" I questioned him now looking up at him again. When I picture beaches, they belong in warm, sunny climates. This was far from warm and sunny.

He smiled slightly at me before explaining, "Yeah, there's a beach up by La Push. A bunch of us are going this Saturday because it's supposed to be sunny. Alice even agreed to go along." Of course Alice would agree to go, but I couldn't be upset with her for that because at least it would keep her mind off of Jasper for awhile.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds fun."

He smiled at me before giving me the details about where they were meeting up and at what time. When he stepped away I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Edward. He was no longer gripping the table and had an air of indifference again. I had to wonder what was going on with him earlier, but considering our unfavorable dispositions towards each other, I knew there was no way I was going to find out.

Saturday came with only one exciting event. During class on Friday I almost passed out because we were finding our blood types. Let's just say that the smell of blood is enough to make me queasy. Thankfully Alice took me home early once she found out I was in the nurses office.

Alice and I were standing outside of Newton Outfitters at nine in the morning. Once everyone was there, we all fit into two vehicles and drove there together. It was everyone from our lunch table who had also gone with us to the movies. And already Mike was trying to find any excuse he could to spend time with me. I clung onto Alice for good measure in hopes that he wouldn't try anything again.

Thankfully someone had packed a picnic lunch, so we hung out at the beach for most of the day. It was actually really nice with the sun out today. I didn't realize how much I missed the sun until I got it back again, even if it was only going to be for today. The water was too cold to swim in, so we stuck to the shore and hung out.

Shortly after noon a few guys came down to the beach. Alice and I recognized Jacob and one of his friends that accompanied him to the movies that night we met up again. There was also another guy who looked like he was closer to twenty. Jacob immediately made his way over to Alice and I. "It's good to see the two of you again," he greeted us before sitting down in the sand in front of us. "I'm sure you two are happy to see the sun out again."

"Absolutely," I said all too enthusiastically. Alice just giggled at my comment. "What are you doing here?" I asked him curiously.

"You're on my rez," he commented looking me in the eyes.

Alice then stated, "I didn't know we were that close to the reservation. I bet Charlie's somewhere around here." Charlie had left early this morning for his weekend fishing trip with Billy somewhere on the reservation.

"Yeah. He and my dad are fishing at the stream."

Lauren decided now to cut into our conversation, "Well, now that he's here, I'm sure you're not all too disappointed that Jasper Cullen couldn't make it."

Jacob and his friends all grimaced for a second, and I could see Alice seething in anger. Lauren, of course, had a smug look on her face. The whole group fell silent as if waiting for a fight to erupt suddenly. After a minute of tense silence the eldest boy cleared his throat and stated, "The Cullen's are not allowed here."

Thank God for Angela, because she decided to take that minute to suggest a hike along the beach. Several people decided to go with her, but Alice and I hung back with a few people, who talked mostly amongst themselves and with Jacob's two friends. After a few minutes Alice stood up and suggested, "Jake, why don't we take a walk also, but we'll go in the opposite direction."

"What about Bella?" he questioned looking from Alice to me.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea with my balance problems," I suggested. "You two go and have fun." I gave him a reassuring smile so that he could chose to do whatever he wanted. He just shrugged his shoulders and followed Alice along the beach.

When they were out of view Eric sat down next to me and stated, "So I heard that you turned Mike down for prom."

"Yeah, I kind of promised Alice that I'd go with her to Seattle that day." I was putting on my best fake disappointment voice while staring out at the ocean.

"Oh, because I was kind of hoping that you had just told him that to gently let him down."

I looked at him and stated, "I'm flattered that you're asking, but I really am going out of town that day."

"Well, maybe then another time," he said rather disappointed before getting up and walking away. His face looked so disappointed it almost made me feel bad.

Alice and Jacob returned twenty minutes later, and I was happy to see that Alice was looking happier. She and Jacob refused to tell me what they talked about, but it apparently did enough to lift Alice's spirits. That was especially evident later on the ride home when Lauren threw in one more insult and Alice just ignored her. And her good mood continued through Sunday and into Monday morning.

Monday morning I was awoken by Alice, who jumped on our bed chanting, "Wake up, wake up." I groaned and turned over looking at the clock. It was a good half hour before I normally got up. The bouncing stopped with a heavy thud and she shouted into my ear, "I need to get to school early today!"

"What for?"

"I've got some important business to take care of." She threw the covers off of me and shouted, "Now get your lazy rear end out of bed and into the shower. I'll lay out your clothes for you." With that she shoved me out of bed and onto the cold floor. I rubbed my aching back and stood up grimacing at her. The look on her face showed me she was clearly going to win any argument I started, so I gave in and got ready for school.

She tried to grab the keys from me, but I wasn't about to let her drive that fast to school even though she was in a huge hurry. And despite my 'slow' driving, we still got to school really early; so early we were the first vehicle there. I sat down at a picnic table outside and started working on my trig homework for tonight, but Alice just paced for the full twenty minutes it took for someone else to show up. Then she made easy chatter with people as they got in. "Alice, why did you make me come so early if all you wanted to do was talk?" I asked exasperated.

She turned her nose up at me and announced, "I have things to do, and I wanted to get them done as soon as they get here."

"Who gets here?" As soon as the words left my mouth her face lit up, and she took off running for the parking lot dodging cars and they pulled in.

I felt my jaw drop to my chest as she approached Edward's silver Volvo and she started talking to them. Edward and Rosalie looked rather upset, Emmett was torn between amusement and anger, and Jasper had a grin on his face that I had only seen when he and Alice were allowed to talk to each other. There were some harsh words said, but it seemed that in the end Alice won. I could see the reluctance on the faces of Edward and Rosalie as Jasper held his arm out to Alice, who happily took it. They made their way towards the building Alice had her first class in leaving everyone, including me, extremely confused.

A/N: I have a beta reader now. My best friend, known as Bubba in the reviews, has volunteered to be my beta reader because that means that she gets to read the chapters sooner (even though she already knows the story line since I've told her at least twice).


	7. The Sort of Truth

I could hardly concentrate in my classes. Alice's behavior was completely confusing. Obviously she was blackmailing them, but what kind of dirt did she get on them? Better yet, how did she get dirt on them? The Cullen family was so reclusive that I can hardly believe that anyone really knows much about them.

So as soon as the class before lunch let out I bolted from my chair and tried to quickly make my way to the cafeteria. Unfortunately with my balance issues, I ended up almost tripping every few fast paced steps and didn't get there any faster than if I had just walked at a normal speed. And after all of that, Alice still beat me there and she was already sitting at the Cullen table. Wait, she was at the Cullen table?

My steps were unsteady as I walked across the cafeteria towards her. Edward's cold black eyes switched from glaring at Alice, who seemed oblivious to them, to glaring at me. "Alice, can I talk to you a moment?" I asked as I stepped behind her.

She whipped her head around and smiled at me before excusing herself from the table. "I haven't gotten anything to eat yet, so join me in line," she said taking the lead.

I just huffed and followed along. When we were finally in line I whispered to her more harshly than I had meant to, "What in the world is going on?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked playing innocent.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I shot back. "I want to know what you said to the Cullen's to suddenly get them to agree to this." I gestured towards their table to see them all staring at us, which caused me to blush at the sudden attention.

Alice didn't even seem phased by anything I said or my tone for that matter. "Oh, nothing really." I gave her the look that said, 'I know that you're lying to me,' so she stated, "I can't tell you in line because I don't want everyone else to hear." She turned away from me and grabbed a tray and put a salad on it.

All I bought was a lemonade because I was now nervous. Whatever this was, it was very big. We approached the table, and the evil pair glared at me like I was expecting them to. Emmett seemed rather curious as he watched our every move. "Well, guys, I just can't leave Bella out of the loop. She is my twin sister after all."

"No!" Rosalie protested aloud drawing some attention to herself.

Edward raised a hand to silence her and stated, "No, I think that Bella has a right to know." The way he looked at her silenced her immediately. I was rather curious about this strange form of communication, but I didn't get much of a chance to contemplate it before Edward prompted Alice mockingly, "Go ahead and tell her."

Alice stared me straight in the eyes as she explained, "Well, it seems that shortly after Jasper was placed in the care of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, he witnessed a murder. I guess it must have been a high profile case because he and the whole rest of their family are on the witness protection program." Once she finished Emmett started laughing so hard he fell out of his chair backwards breaking it in the process. "I didn't do that bad of a job telling her," Alice protested putting her hands on her hips, not that he could see that from his position on the ground half way across the table from her.

"Great, now she knows and is going to tell everyone," Rosalie protested throwing her hands up in the air in an over dramatic fashion. Suddenly I got the feeling that this was some sort of a prank on me.

I stood up abruptly and said to all of them, "I don't appreciate people lying to me. If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to. I guess I just wanted to know why the same people who for the last month were keeping these two apart are suddenly letting her roll all over them." I was so angry right now that I could feel tears building up. Not wanting them to see me stupidly cry over being so mad I bolted from the cafeteria and sat in the truck for most of the rest of lunch.

Once I was sure the traitorous tears were dried up, I went to a bathroom and threw cold water on my face to try and hide the evidence as best as I could before heading to biology where I would have to sit next to the insufferable Edward. He came in minutes later and sat down quietly. I refused to look up at him opting instead to let my hair fall to form a curtain between us.

Edward was silent for a minute before he stated quietly and sincerely, "Alice was being honest with you. She may do it a bit over dramatically, but I suspect that's how Alice tends to be." I didn't respond to him like I'm sure he wanted me to. After several seconds of silence he continued on, "Now that you know, I'm sure you understand why it is that we don't want Alice and Jasper to get too close. If someone ever comes for Jasper, then Alice is going to get hurt. He would be devastated knowing he caused the person he loves to come to harm, and I'm sure you and your family would be just as upset. Is there anyway you could talk some sense into her?"

"So she's blackmailing you?" I asked curiously as I looked up at him. His eyes were a warm gold color again, which put me more at ease. While this was strange, I suppose it's the least of my problems right now.

He pursed his lips together for a second before answering, "Yes. She said that if she can't spend time with him, that she'll tell everyone. Of course I don't think she realizes that we'll have to move then."

"Why not ask the Program to move you since you're already discovered?"

He huffed, "Because Rosalie's tired of moving. Besides, there's only a couple of months left in the school year, so she, Jasper, and Emmett would both hate moving so close to graduation."

That did make sense, so I guess that left the ball in Alice's court. Or should I say that it was left in my court since I would have to be the one to talk sense into her? "I'll talk to her tonight, but I can't guarantee that she'll change her mind. Unfortunately Alice can be just as stubborn as I can."

"That's all I ask," he said with a small smile. The bell rang, and Mr. Banner started class. My mind was running through the conversation with Edward. This was more like the beginning of our first conversation together. I guess I had jumped to conclusions about him when he told me something I didn't want to hear. The worst part was knowing that I had taken his warning to heart only to turn on him the next day when he did the best thing for our siblings. Talking to Alice was the least I could do to fix the problem I had just gotten us all into.

I waited for Alice outside of our truck once school was out. She and Jasper were certainly taking their time saying their goodbyes! I was about to walk over to her and pull her away like a child when Tyler approached me. "Hey, Bella."

"Hey," I said making sure to sound almost annoyed.

"Um, I was kind of wondering if you'd like to go to prom with me?" he asked nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. "I know you already turned down Mike and Eric, but I heard that you turned them down because you were going to Seattle with Alice."

"I still am," I protested crossing my arms over my chest childishly.

He looked over towards Alice and continued just as nervously, "Well, Alice told me that she agreed to go to prom with Jasper Whitlock."

I could feel my face fall into a blank state. "Why did she tell you that?" I questioned him.

"I kind of asked her if you were going to be available to go to prom now, and she told me that you were."

It like a punch to the gut. It's not like I should be surprised that Alice has decided to go to prom with Jasper since that option is now open to her, but I didn't expect her to be so traitorous as to tell Tyler that I would be available to go to prom with him. The anger was bubbling over in me, but I refused to let him see how angry I was. Putting on my best facade I explained to him calmly, "I'm sorry, Tyler, but I just don't think I'm all that interested in going. Thanks for the offer though."

Now it was his turn to look disappointed, and he looked almost as depressed as if his dog was run over by my truck. Then he snapped out of it quickly and said, "Well, maybe we can do something some other time." He plastered a strange smile on his face before excusing himself with a wave.

And just as he left Alice took that moment to approach the truck with Jasper holding her hand. "Get in the truck now," I snapped at her effectively scaring Jasper but unfortunately not Alice. She pecked Jasper's cheek before jumping into the truck happily. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and got in slamming the door for emphasis, which was obviously lost on Alice. "Alice, this is wrong," I started.

"Bella, sometimes you don't know what's the best for everyone," she said just as seriously back staring out the windshield.

"If they catch up with him, they're going to hurt you first."

"I'm prepared for that if necessary."

I turned to her and shouted at her, "Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Of course I am," she said whipping her body around to face me. "Why can't you accept the fact that I'm happy with Jasper? And why won't you allow him to be happy also? People in his situation have the right to fall in love!" She was now yelling at me also.

"And when they find him they will torture him by hurting you. You have absolutely no idea of what kind of pain you'll put him through much less the rest of us. And you should be looking out for yourself. Geez, sometimes you act too much like Renee!" I know I was frustrated, and I definitely know I shouldn't have said that.

Biting back in anger Alice coursed, "And you're just like Charlie: a stick in the mud who doesn't live and expects everyone else to live their boring overly safe lives. Renee's happily married, and Charlie's so bitterly alone that he hasn't even bothered to repaint the kitchen because that's how Renee painted it. And you're going to end up just as alone and can't stand the thought that I might be happy with someone." She got out of the truck slamming the door and ran to the silver Volvo as it was pulling away. Edward stopped and they let her in the car and sped off.

Alice didn't say a word to me for the rest of the night or the next day. She sat with at the Cullen table and kept her back to me. Edward, though, kept glancing my direction with soft features, or so I imagined he was doing.

He surprised me before biology. As he was sitting down he softly stated, "I'm sorry to have caused problems between you and Alice."

"I guess it's to be expected. We're both so stubborn," I explained not looking up from my mindless doodling.

"We'll all find some way to get through this. There's only two more months to the school year and three months in the summer. Then Jasper will be going away to college in Texas, and the distance will hopefully do them some good."

"Two more months before they'll be distanced. Alice promised Renee that we would visit her for the summer," I informed him flatly now looking up at him. I could tell that he was troubled because he was tugging at his messy hair with a restless hand. "Two months can't be that bad," I protested.

"I'm not as worried about that. I'm more worried about you right now. Are you okay with everything?"

I could feel the blood in my cheeks pooling at the surface. He was actually asking about me and my welfare! Something inside of me made me feel a little giddy at the thought. Pushing those strange feelings to the side I tried to assure him, "I'll be fine just as long as nothing happens. I guess it was inevitable though."

"What's that?"

"Alice and I have been so close for so long, but some day our opposite personalities were bound to push each other away. And I guess it was going to have to happen some day because we can't be as close when we get into the adult world." I looked down at my doodling and held back the tears that threatened to show up at my revelation.

"In the end it's always inevitable that we have to part from each other. It's all a part of the growing up process. But I'm sure that she'll understand some day," he comforted me. Just this once I wish I could pull him into a hug, but I didn't want him thinking I was some kind of lunatic. Instead I numbly nodded and didn't say another word to him for the rest of the day.

Alice rarely said anything to me after the fight. It was like we were two strangers living in the same room and sleeping in the same bed. She spent most of her time at the Cullen's house, and I spent most of my time at home. Alice didn't even get ready at our house for prom, so I never did get to see her all dressed up.

The only thing that was working out for me was that Edward and I were developing an understanding. We didn't say much, but we really didn't need to. When we did talk, he would say things to comfort me. I don't think I would have gotten through the last two months of the school year without his comforting presence and words. And in the back of my head I wondered if next year when we weren't so worried about our siblings we could develop a friendship.

–

A/N: I'm really sorry for getting this out so late! Tuesday I served as an election judge, which is a 15-hour day. I was so exhausted I fell asleep early on Wednesday night too. Then I entirely forgot about this being a holiday weekend, and I always go to my parents' house for the weekend. I just got back home at 7:30 tonight, and I'm typing this note at 10. If there are some mistakes, I'll look through it tomorrow and fix them.


	8. Two Sisters with Two Brothers

Not even two days after school let out I was on a plane heading to Florida with Alice sitting next to me. She had been strangely silent all day, which I suspect is due to her having to be stuck with me today with no escape. "Bella," she called out softly. I turned my head to look at her. I could see her eyes wavering as she looked at me. "I'm sorry," was all she said before turning and staring at the back of the seat in front of her.

"That's all you have to say?" I asked a little upset. She didn't say much to me, and when she apologized she did it so insincerely that I couldn't be sure she meant it.

Alice turned towards me again and tried to visibly calm herself down before continuing, "I'm sorry that I have been so mean to you lately. I know you're trying to protect me, but sometimes I just wish that you would let me make my own mistakes."

"This isn't a possibly little mistake. This could be your life," I reminded her.

She blinked hard once and then rubbed her temples in a circular motion. "I know what I'm doing, and if you would just be patient you'd see that I'm going to be fine. Nothing bad will happen to me. In fact, I predict that something good will happen to you as a result of all of this," she said in a chipper voice as she ceased rubbing her temples. "Like for instance you seem to be forming a friendship with Edward."

"We are suffering through this together," I corrected her. "We're not friends, per se, but I do have to admit that it's nice not fighting with him." I leaned my head back against the headrest and remembered the last conversation I had with Edward. We were both rather relieved that Jasper was graduating and Alice was going with me out of state. He wished me a safe trip, and he smiled a genuine smile at me. I knew it was a genuine smile because his crooked smile reached his eyes.

Alice leaned forward so that she was now in my line of sight, her sheepish grin spread across her face as she commented, "It seems to me that maybe there might be more developing between the two of you."

"No," I immediately protested causing her to giggle. "I'm not interested in him like that. Sure, he's good looking, but he can be so rude."

"You are trying so hard to convince me that you don't like him that you must inevitably like him. You wouldn't be protesting so hard if that was not the case." She sat back and asked, "Wouldn't it be funny if we ended up marrying brothers? Well, foster brothers."

"It's not going to happen, Alice, so get that in that thick skull of yours." It was not meant to be malicious, and thankfully she knew me well enough to know that. The rest of the flight was spent in a comfortable silence. Sure, it was not the same between us as it was before we moved to Forks, but this was better than it had been for the past couple of months.

The first thing Renee asked about when we landed was Jasper. Unfortunately after hours of listening to Alice continuing to gush over him, she mentioned my attraction to Edward, which got Renee started on her prodding to "reel him in". And I had to listen to them both throughout the entire summer vacation.

Despite being all the way across country, Alice insisted on calling Jasper every day and talking to him for at least twenty minutes. They didn't say much, but apparently she didn't need to say much in order to know that he missed her just as much as she missed him. And sometimes I felt guilty for wanting to keep them apart until I realized how much Alice was like Renee and needed protection. From what little I knew about Jasper, he would take care of her, but I still worried about the threat of someone coming after her to get at Jasper.

When we got back to Forks a couple of days before the start of our last year of high school I was relieved to know that Jasper was already half way across the country, this time in Texas. I found it strange that they would let him go to school so far away from the rest of the family, but maybe that was part of the charade the Witness Protection Program had set up. Either way, I guess I didn't want to give much thought into it.

Instead I was rather intrigued at Alice's cold attitude towards Edward and vice versa. I had thought that Edward would now relax knowing the couple was separated, but he seemed even more tense. And if Alice was so set on getting me together with Edward, why did she act like she hated him? When he was around instead she would spend all her time trying to talk about the most random things.

And then a week after our birthday I saw them having a heated conversation outside the cafeteria after school. As I approached them I heard Alice state harshly to him, "I don't care if you don't like it because it's going to happen." He looked up at me and grunted slightly alerting Alice to my presence. She put on a fake smile and chirpy attitude as she greeted me, "Hey, Bella. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," I answered her unsure if I really did want to leave. What was it with these two? And what was going to happen that Edward didn't like? "I guess I am." I looked over at Edward only to see him unable to look me in the eyes.

Alice started walking towards the truck, so I slowly followed after her but not before hearing Edward call out to Alice, "Don't forget that you're not the only one here." I turned back to look at him, but he was already walking away from us.

I hurried up to catch up with Alice so that I could ask her, "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing important," Alice said a little grouchily. "Just ignore him for right now." She yanked open the door and climbed into the driver's seat before leaning over and yanking the keys out of my hands. "Hurry up. We've got to make dinner for Charlie," she scolded me before closing the door. I complied and jumped into the passenger side of the car.

I didn't pay much attention to the dinner conversation or my homework. My mind was too busy trying to figure out how I would approach Edward tomorrow and get some answers out of him. Despite Alice and I getting along again, she was still hiding too much from me, and I knew that if this concerned Alice's well-being I would be able to get something out of Edward if I played my cards right.

"I'm going to miss you," Alice said as she climbed into bed next to me.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and asked her, "What do you exactly mean by that?"

She turned towards me and since the light was on I could see tears starting to fall from her eyes. "I know we're going to be separated for awhile, but I want you to know that I still love you."

"Alice, are you going away?" I practically yelled at her. Was this what she was discussing with Edward? And if it was, how did he know but I didn't?

"Not yet, but when we go to school next year this won't be the same."

I was taken back by that. That was a whole year away! "Alice, we have nearly a year to worry about this! Don't be torturing yourself about this now!" I commanded her before she got me sappy about this also.

"It's just that something Edward said got me thinking. Well, and I've really been missing Jazz lately."

"Jazz?" I inquired wondering if this was some nickname for Jasper she had suddenly made up.

A smile crossed her pixie-like face that seemed to light up. "Yeah, Jazz," she sighed as if it was the most sacred word in the world. "He likes it since I made it up."

"Get some sleep, Alice," I commanded her softly.

"Night, Bella," she yawned out before falling silent.

But everything changed the next morning. I felt someone shaking me violently in their frantic attempt to wake me up. "Bella, wake up," Charlie's deep voice got through the thick fog of sleep.

I opened my eyes to see him looking frazzled, which was unlike him. "Is something wrong?" I asked him now feeling alarmed.

"It's Alice."

I bolted up in the bed and noticed that Alice was not laying next to me anymore. "What's wrong with Alice?" I asked now frantic with worry? Had someone gotten to her last night? With me laying next to her in bed?

"She left, Bells," Charlie stated. "I found a letter downstairs explaining that she ran away with that Cullen boy." He started pacing as he asked, "Did she give you any indication that she was going to do this?"

"She was being all sentimental about going to college, but at first I thought she was talking about leaving earlier than that. Oh, and at school she was arguing with Edward Masen Cullen about something."

He scratched the back of his head with his restless fingers. "I've got to get down to the station. Your mother's on the first flight she can get here. She's going to kill me." He walked out calling behind him, "When you're dressed come down to the station so I can get some written statements."

The police station was busy when I got there. Dr. Cullen was there with a beautiful woman about his age. She might not have been as beautiful as Rosalie, but she certainly rivaled all the other women I knew. I could tell that she was on the verge of tears, so I assumed this was Mrs. Cullen.

Edward was sitting in front of Charlie's office sounding completely exasperated as he explained, "All I knew was that she was planning on eloping with him after graduation, so I told her that it was a bad idea. She wouldn't listen, and then Bella interrupted us."

"You knew she was going to elope but you didn't tell me?" I asked him startling Charlie. Edward didn't even turn around to look at me, which made me angry because that pretty much said to me that he wasn't. "She's my sister!" I protested.

He finally turned to look at me and stated, "And you would have over reacted."

"You certainly didn't do a good job of convincing her. Instead you encouraged her to do it sooner!" I fired back at him. "Now she may not finish high school."

"You're being absurd," he said under his breath, but I was able to clearly hear it. He looked back at Charlie and asked politely, "Are we finished?"

"Sure, but I might need you for some more questioning," Charlie informed him before turning to me and stating, "Your mother is going to be here some time this evening, so one of us will need to pick her up in Port Angles. She's not happy."

"I can imagine she's rather frantic right now," I grumbled before flopping down in the chair.

Carlisle and the woman came and sat down in the two empty chairs and Carlisle introduced the woman to me, "Bella, this is my wife, Esme. Esme, this is Bella."

Esme shook my hand commenting, "It's an honor to finally meet you. Alice talks so much about you." She got very quiet before she practically whispered, "I'm sorry Jasper took her away from you."

"I highly doubt it was his idea," I corrected her. "This has Alice written all over it." With that I stood up abruptly and walked out the doors. I needed fresh air and some time to put everything together.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I doubt that you'll ever see Alice again," Edward said from behind me completely startling me. I turned to look at him only to see his eyes black again.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously. "She'll probably come back when all of the commotion has died down."

Edward ran a hand through his messy bronze hair before commenting, "You have no idea what she's gotten herself into. Trust me, there's no turning back from it if she even survives." He leaned in closer to me, and I swear I stopped breathing for several seconds. Everything about his at that moment had me mesmerized from his eyes to his heavenly scent.

"Get away from her, Cullen," a teenage male voice commanded him from behind. Edward leaned back again and I could see Jacob standing behind him with Billy sitting in his wheelchair nearby watching us carefully. A second glance at Jacob showed that he had grown considerably taller and more muscular from the last time I saw him at the La Push beach. "You already have one Swan girl. Isn't that enough?"

Edward turned to the side and glared at Jacob before warning him, "Watch your words, dog." He walked off getting into his car and peeled out of the parking lot leaving me alone with the Black's.

"I'm going inside," Billy said before wheeling himself up the ramp and inside the building.

Jacob stepped towards me with his head down watching me carefully with every step. "I'm really sorry, Bells," he told me softly. "I never thought that she would go this far."

"Did you know about this too?" I asked in irritation.

"I didn't know she was going to run away with one of them."

"Then what are you apologizing for?"

"For telling her the truth about them," he clarified.

Then it dawned on me that it was rather strange that Jacob knew about their secret. "How did you find out they were in the Witness Protection Program?" I asked curiously.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and asked me, "Witness Protection Program?"

"Yeah. She said that they were in the..."

He cut me off before I could say anything more. "I never said that."

"Then what did you tell her?"

"I shouldn't say," he said dodging the question.

When he started to walk away I grabbed onto his arm and got his attention back on me. I knew Alice had told me in the past that she thought Jacob had a crush on me, so I thought that maybe I could butter him up enough to get him to tell me everything. I smiled sweetly at him and then ran my hand up and down his arm. The actions felt strange, but I could see that I had his rapt attention. "Jacob," I said in the sweetest most sickening tone. "What did you tell Alice about the Cullen's?"

Jacob sighed heavily and looked over at the door to the station before turning back to me and whispering, "The Cullen's are vampires."

--

A/N: To celebrate the fact that I finally got a court date to make my divorce final, I am posting really early this week. Let's see if I can keep this up. Thanks to everyone adding me to their lists and everyone who has been reviewing!


	9. Discovery

"What?" I screamed out loud. Jacob hurriedly shushed me looking around to make sure no one had heard me. "You could at least come up with a decent excuse!" I yelled enraged at the bogus explanation he just gave me.

He glared at me before saying in his most serious tone, "I'm not lying to you. They really are vampires."

The sincerity in his voice and eyes made me want to believe he was telling the truth. Unfortunately my logical mind couldn't wrap itself around this crazy story. Sarcastically I remarked, "And I bet you're also going to tell me that werewolves exist."

He suddenly started to look sheepish as he scratched the back of his neck and stuttered, "Um, you're not far from the truth."

"I need a minute," I explained to him as I walked away and towards my truck, but I didn't get in. I didn't know if I was angry or confused or both. Sure, there were some strange things about the Cullen's that couldn't always be explained, and Jacob had seemed so sincere when he told me. But could vampires and werewolves really exist? "Prove it," I dared Jacob as I turned back to him.

He walked up to me and whispered, "They have golden eyes that grow black when they're angry or hungry. Their skin is cold and as tough as marble. They're also faster and stronger than the average human. And werewolves do exist because apparently someone in the tribe has already changed, and they think I will too because my great-grandfather did."

I stopped and let his words replay in my head. Why would he tell me a lie about werewolves if that included him? But what was worse was that I couldn't ignore the facts he gave me about vampires. Hadn't I seen for myself how Edward's eyes changed colors, especially when he was angry? And didn't his skin feel strange the few times he touched me? Not to mention the fact that he was strong enough to push me out of the way when Tyler's van almost hit me, and he walked away without a scratch despite the amount of glass that had covered him.

And then it hit me: vampires feed on blood. My eyes widened and I stared up at Jacob frightfully. "Jasper killed her, didn't he? He killed Alice?" I asked angrily.

"Bella, I didn't mean that..." he started to explain to me but we were interrupted when we heard the sound of Billy clearing his throat. "Dad..."

But Billy wouldn't let him finish and instead scolded him, "You were supposed to keep this all a secret."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep the truth from her. She deserves to know." I wanted to snort. In all truth, he told me more because he was afraid that I already knew, and then I conned him into telling me. Billy didn't exactly like his explanation either, and Carlisle and Esme, who had been standing there watching us the entire time, looked rather concerned themselves. "I'm sorry," Jacob apologized again.

"Well, it's too late now," I explained casually to Billy.

Billy let out a huff of air before stating, "Well, I guess you're going to be coming with us. We'll explain everything on the way."

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"La Push. Don't forget to tell Charlie you're coming with us."

He didn't leave any opportunity for me to back out, so I ran into the station and informed Charlie I was going with them. "Bells, I need you here," he explained to me. "You're mother is going to be here in another three hours, and I don't think she wants to be left alone with me."

"Charlie, I'll be back by then," I assured him. "I just need to go with Billy right now." He reluctantly allowed me to go.

It was decided that I was to leave my truck there because someone would drive me back to get it. And then we were headed for their home with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen following behind us in their black Mercedes.

Billy was silent for the first five minutes of the trip before he started scolding Jacob again, "You were not supposed to tell any of the outsiders about the Cullen's. Or us, for that matter. Now you've violated the treaty, and they're going to use that against us."

"What treaty?" I asked now rather confused.

I heard Billy sigh again before explaining everything to me, "Jacob was telling you the truth about the Cullen's. They are vampires, but they are not like most vampires. My grandfather, Ephraim Black, found Dr. Cullen and a few vampires who now live in Alaska feeding on our lands. They were feeding on the animals there insisting that they preferred to live off of animal blood instead of human blood. To ensure the safety of our people, Ephraim and Carlisle made an agreement that as long as the Cullen's stay off of our lands we will not expose them for what they are. And they are also not allowed to feed on an humans or change any humans while they are here."

"So Alice may still be alive?" I asked hopefully. If Carlisle doesn't drink human blood, then surely Jasper didn't also.

Billy sounded grim as he stated, "That's where it becomes complicated. I am told that turning a human into a vampire requires a great deal of control, and I do believe some of the members of their coven are worried that Jasper may not have enough control to keep your sister alive."

And just as quickly as the hope built itself within me, it was shattered. Was that why she ran off with him? "So you believe that she wanted to become one of them?" I asked despite the sickening pit in my stomach growing larger at the thought.

"That is our guess."

We didn't say anything more, not that I wanted to hear any more. My mind and heart were too full of anxiety and anger. I didn't know who I should be more angry at: Alice, Jasper, Jacob, or Edward. Why I was angry at Alice and Jasper was obvious. I was angry at Jacob for telling her about their secret in the first place. And Edward, well, I was angry at Edward for not telling me anything, especially after Alice gave me that fake story about them being in the witness protection program. And now I have to wonder if that's what he was arguing with her about yesterday after school.

When we got to La Push we stopped at the city hall. Billy immediately got on the phone there and called the elders for a meeting. In the meantime the Cullen's waited patiently hardly moving a muscle. It was like they were living statute with how eerily it was that they could sit for so long without moving or breathing. If I didn't believe before that they were vampires, that certainly would have made me believe now.

Carlisle seemed calm, emotionless. I could see a great deal of internal struggle within Esme, which often matched my own. Finally she got up and sat down next to me all the way across the room from her husband. She didn't say anything at first, but just as I thought, her first words were an apology, "I'm sorry, Bella, about this whole thing. Edward had told us that they were thinking about this, but he told us that they had been waiting until after Alice graduated."

"He could have at least told me," I sulked like a child. "He tried to convince her on his own, and Alice is not the type to do something just because someone else wants her to. She often doesn't even listen to me, and I'm about the only one who can make her see any sense."

I felt a cold hand place itself on my shoulder before she told me, "We were only thinking of what was best for you. We didn't want you to know the truth because it's sometimes hard to understand."

"It's not the truth that I'm worried about. It's the fact that I was left out of this when it was my sister who was put in danger."

"We never meant to put her in danger," Edward's velvety voice stated in a matter-of-fact tone from above me. I looked up from my hands in my lap to his now coal back eyes. "Jasper is the one who put her into danger, not us. That's why we tried to tell you to keep her away."

My anger at him ran unchecked as I stood up and got into his face yelling, "I would have been able to keep her away better if I had known the truth and she didn't."

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke our attention away from each other. We both turned to see Jacob looking rather grave as he stood near us. "Is he bothering you, Bella?" Jacob asked me in a rather protective manner. "Because I think he needs to step back from you before I make him."

"You can back off, dog," Edward said snidely before stepping away and moving to stand behind Carlisle. Esme gave me an apologetic smile before sitting down again next to her husband.

Shortly after all of the elders were assembled along with a few of Jacob's classmates. They argued amongst themselves and with the Cullen's about the situation, each accusing the other of being at fault. As much as I was angry at the Cullen's, I couldn't let them take the blame when I knew Jacob was just as much at fault. Finally I spoke up gaining dead silence from the entire room. "I believe Alice would have never found out about the Cullen's secret if someone here hadn't told them." I wasn't about to name any names, but I know I was certainly angry enough to.

Jacob hung his head, and Billy moved to resolve things by saying, "It was our fault that she found out, so we cannot break the contract since we broke it first and have now broken it twice." I watched Jacob flinch in horror at hearing that it was his fault. "But we must discuss now the possibility of a newborn vampire within the region."

"They aren't around here," Edward clarified for them. "Jasper had been thinking about taking her to a remote area in Canada. We already sent Emmett and Rosalie to look for them."

"But we cannot put our kind in peril," one of the men stated.

Jacob leaned over to me, obviously understanding my confusion that I was sure was written on my face, and informed me, "Newborn vampires are much stronger than older vampires and have little control over their bloodlust." Just the thought of Alice thirsting after someone's blood made me sick to my stomach. Alice was so gentle it was hard to imagine her trying to harm someone.

Then a guy a couple of years older than me stated, "We'll take care of her if she ever steps on our lands."

"No," Billy yelled. "There are not enough of you yet." I'm assuming he means werewolves? Geez, just this morning none of this existed, and now I feel like I'm in the middle of a nightmare.

Edward muttered something very quickly to Carlisle and Esme, and whatever it was seemed to alarm Esme. "I hope it will not come to that, especially since Alice is such a good person," Carlisle said looking straight at me. He then addressed the younger man, "We will do our best to locate them and make sure she gains self-control before she ever returns to the area."

They talked some more, but I wasn't paying much attention. This was information overload. My loving, caring, joyful sister was out there somewhere either dead or lusting after human blood and a complete harm to everyone.

The sound of Jacob's voice growling out, "She doesn't need you to give her a ride home," interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to find everyone starting to disperse, and towering above me was Jacob and Edward.

"If I'm heading that direction, I might as well take her back to the station. Besides, there are some things I need to discuss with her," Edward contradicted him. "And Esme will be coming along with us."

Jacob didn't seem to like the idea, but the look from Billy said that he needed to back down. He ignored Edward and assured me, "I'll call you tomorrow to check on you."

I nodded my head and followed Esme out to Edward's silver Volvo. Esme insisted that I sit in the backseat, so I complied. Once we were out of La Push on our way back to Forks she said to me, "I assure you that no one will harm Alice."

"That's if Jasper didn't kill her," Edward said dramatically.

"I'm sure he didn't kill her."

"We don't know that."

I finally cut them both off by requesting, "Will someone please let me know what it is that you are talking about?"

Esme was about to say something when Edward said, "Jasper is not good at self-control. He spent too much of his vampire existence feeding off of humans, and he's had a more difficult time adapting to our lifestyle."

"But he truly does love Alice, so I can't believe he would kill her even on accident," Esme inserted. "If Edward can resist draining you, then surely Jasper could resist draining the love of his life."

"Edward wants to kill me?"

"The scent of your blood is stronger than the blood of any human I've ever known." And despite knowing that Edward could easily give in to this calling of my blood, I didn't feel frightened.

Esme watched me to see how I would react, but when I didn't react how she expected me to she continued talking about Jasper. "Jasper can feel emotions, and hopefully the moment Alice shows fear he'll let go and do what's best for her."

He pulled into the station's parking lot much faster than I expected him to. I didn't know what to say or do, so I moved to open the door only to hear Esme call out to me. "Bella, I think it would be best if you stayed out of school for a few days. If you have any more questions or just want someone to talk to, you can always call or come over." I numbly nodded my head and then got out of the car.

Charlie was waiting on me. We rode in the cruiser to the airport in Port Angeles in complete silence, our thoughts completely elsewhere. And then we wished it had been silent on the way back, but Renee insisted on talking the whole way. Mostly she kept asking questions about how we could let Alice get away, but I kept completely silent. Even though I had not promised to keep this a secret, I didn't dare tell my parents because I knew they couldn't handle it. I could barely handle it!


	10. You Don't Know

Don't get me wrong, I love my mother, but after only 18 hours I was ready to get away from her. Actually, it was more the fighting that I needed to get away from. All she and Charlie did was argue about whose fault it was that Alice ran away. For the most part I kept out of the room to make sure I didn't get caught up in their childishness.

On my way out the door I yelled that I was going out but didn't say anything more. I assume they heard me because I saw Charlie standing outside the side door looking flustered as I pulled away. Truly I do feel sorry for Charlie because Renee has no idea what Alice's real intentions were, and she's placing most of the blame on him as a result of her ignorance. Yet I knew better than to tell either one of them because they'd either think I needed to be institutionalized or this could all turn out badly for the Cullen's, who already have to deal with a few missing members of their family and a growing number of werewolves.

I eventually found myself sitting outside of Jacob's house. Billy looked outside and noticed me as I pulled up, but he didn't come out to greet me. Could it possibly be that he was upset about me knowing now? But when Jacob came out a few minutes later I assume he was just letter Jacob know I was here. Jacob strolled across the yard and sat in the passenger side of my truck. "So," he stated staring out the window.

"So," I said back casually.

Jacob glanced back at his house before turning to me and saying, "Charlie called my dad and stated that he thought you might end up here. Things getting a bit tense at home?"

"You have no idea," I said exasperatedly. "Those two have done nothing but argue during their waking hours. Charlie even stayed home from work and monitored everything from there."

"They're just worried," Jacob tried to explain, but he knew as well as I did that this was in vain. In all reality, neither one of them wanted to take any responsibility despite the fact that Alice was honestly old enough to make her own decisions. Sure, she didn't exactly make a mature decision, but she was now legally old enough to do so.

I answered him slowly, "I haven't believed that since I was ten."

He gave a lame laugh that ended quickly when I didn't join him. Out of the corner I could see him slouch further into the seat and then rub the skin on his neck roughly. "Hey, Bella, are you still angry at me?" he asked concerned, his face that was now turned to me showed his apprehension.

"A little," I told him honestly. I didn't know why I was even here except for the fact that there were very few people I could talk to about this. "But I'm also really confused right now and don't know where to turn to."

Jacob nodded his head slightly a few times before assuring me, "If you need someone to talk to, you can always stop by or call me."

"I'm surprised your not grounded," I laughed.

"Actually, I am, but my dad likes you and knows you're grieving right now. He's actually okay with you knowing now because you can help us keep an eye on the Cullen's."

"You can watch the Cullen's yourself. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen are okay, but I'm not going near Edward since he thought he could convince Alice on his own." I rested my head back against the window and closed my eyes.

Jake thought for a moment before he suggested, "If you are that upset with Edward, why don't you tell him?"

"I have," I said as I straightened up in my seat again and glared at him. "He still thinks he's in the right, and I'd be over there giving him a piece of my mind if I knew where he lives."

"I can tell you," Jake said as he hopped out of the cab of the truck before I could stop him. He bound across the yard and into the house and then came back a minute later running back to me. In his hands was a pen and a scrap of paper. Instead of sitting in the truck again, he walked over to my door and waited for me to open the window. Thankfully he drew out the directions for me as he verbally gave them or otherwise I wouldn't have figured out where exactly the hidden entrance to their driveway was. Before I left he commented, "Too bad I'm grounded or I'd come with you and enjoy the show."

"Maybe next time," I suggested with a hearty laugh. I could only imagine how much joy Jacob would get from watching Edward suffer from my stubborn temper.

I almost missed the drive but still found it hidden in the brush. The drive to the house was very long, and I started to wonder if this led to anywhere, but then I saw the giant house looming in the horizon. It was a white house that was three stories high and appeared to be much larger than any of the other houses in the entire county.

I didn't see any cars parked out front, but they had a large garage attached, so I assumed that if anyone was home I couldn't tell. Then again, Esme said that someone would always be available to talk to if needed. And she was standing in the doorway as I walked up to the porch. "Bella," she called out to me joyfully. "I didn't know you would be coming by today." She didn't sound angry, so I took that as a good sign.

"I was kind of hoping I could ask a few more questions," I said having suddenly chickened out. It wasn't that I suddenly lost my nerve to fight him; it was more that I didn't want to put Esme in the middle of something when she had been at least attempting to be helpful.

She opened the door further for me and stepped out of the way so that I could enter. Not far from the door was a grand staircase. To my right was a bright and open living room that had an entire wall made out of glass. "Why don't you have a seat on the couch. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you though." I sat down on one of the white sofas in the middle of the room, and she sat in the one across from it.

We sat in silence for a few seconds before she asked me, "What is that you would like to ask?" She gave me a kind smile that made me feel back for taking her time.

I didn't even know what more I could ask. After swallowing hard I blurted out, "Will I ever get to see Alice again?"

Her smile faltered for a second before remaining solidly plastered to her face. "I'm sure some day you might, but it might be some years before she is strong enough to see you."

"The control thing?"

"Yes." I thought she might say more since she hesitated, but I guess she decided not to.

From somewhere upstairs I could hear the sound of classical music growing louder. I ignored it and asked, "Could I at least get the chance to talk to her when she is found?"

"I don't see why not. I'm sure she'll be very excited to speak to you again. I'm sure she'll feel the need to explain."

Oh, she had a lot to explain to me, especially why she chose that day. Of course, I did have my suspicions that she thought she had to do it then or Edward would try to stop them. When I gathered my thoughts I realized that Esme was now sitting there staring at me as if in wait for the next question. I pulled from somewhere in the recesses of my brain, "Are you going to accept her and Jasper back? I know they made a big mistake, but I know she's not going to have any family to go back to for awhile."

"Of course we will," Esme said so genuinely that I couldn't help but believe her. "Everyone makes mistakes, so it's important to forget and forgive." I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear that. Alice was such an extrovert I knew she'd need others to connect with, and, for the most part, it seemed that the Cullen's were the best of her kind for her to remain with. I could already tell that Esme was going to be a great mother figure for her.

The music from upstairs crescendoed reminding me of Edward's presence in this house also. "Um, do you mind if I talked to Edward?" I asked her shyly. I'm sure he didn't want to talk to me, but that was besides the point.

"I'm sure he won't mind," she informed me with a smile still on her face. Either she was completely oblivious or she was great at lying. She stood up and walked towards the stairs before turning to face me and telling me, "I'll show you where his room is." We walked in silence up two flights of stairs to the third floor. The music was so loud the bass was making the walls rattle. Of course he would be playing the "Mars" movement of Holst's _The Planets_. Esme knocked on the door and spoke at a regular volume, "Edward, Bella is here."

Within seconds the music was turned down and Edward opened the door and glared at me. "Swan," he said coldly. His attitude quickly changed, and I suppose Esme must have non-verbally said something through a motion I was either too slow to catch or was angled wrong to see. Edward huffed and reluctantly opened the door wide enough for me as an invitation to come into his room. I walked in slowly to the middle of the room before turning around only to see Edward shut the door on Esme.

I suddenly felt trapped, but it wasn't from fear that he could easily make a meal out of me. Instead I felt trapped by his overwhelming presence and the strange way in which my heart beat as he steadily moved closer to me. I'm sure I should have felt frightened considering the fact that he appeared to be stalking me like a big cat stalks its prey, but I guess I'm just not that normal.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know I could kill you?" he asked me as if it was some kind of common question. I mentally laughed at how strangely common everything about him felt having only known their secret for a little more than a day.

I lifted my chin up and stared into his golden eyes as I announced, "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be," he said before he walked over to his stereo.

"I'm not," I repeated stubbornly. "And there's nothing you could do to make me scared of you."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because in seconds he was at my side and dangerously close to my ear as he whispered, "I could kill you at any second. You don't know how much your blood calls out to me."

"But you won't because you would have done it a long time ago," I answered him keeping my eyes glued to his face despite how much it pained me to stare at him out of the corner of my eyes. "You don't want to kill a human or otherwise you wouldn't have chosen this lifestyle."

Edward quickly released me and was across the room just as quickly as he moved to my side. I watched him as he leaned up against the glass wall and spoke tenderly, "You're right, I don't want to kill you. You don't know how hard it is to control yourself against something that appeals to you so strongly. That's why I can't take a chance with you. It's best if you just stayed away."

"Well, like it or not, it looks like you're kind of stuck with me right now. Because of Jasper and Alice we're going to be related, and I especially don't plan on abandoning Alice since I'm the only family she has that understands what's going on right now. For her sake, and I suppose the rest of your family's sake, we should at least try and get along." After my rant I found myself out of breath. Had I really been talking that fast? I guess sometimes when I get passionate about something I have a tendency to go overboard.

Edward straightened his frame again and then turned towards me before saying with emphasis, "You don't have any idea what it's like to be one of us."

"No, I don't," I admitted to him. "But of all her family and friends, I am the closest one she has to understanding. There's no way Charlie or Renee could handle any of this, and Jacob is one day going to become her mortal enemy."

"Bella, there may be a chance you will not be able to go anywhere near her ever. I'm not the only one very much attracted to your blood. Jasper and Emmett have both mentioned that your blood smells stronger to them than most. It would kill Alice some day if she killed you on accident because she couldn't control herself."

"I'll take my chances," I said defiantly. I may not know what it's like to be a vampire, but I know what's like to be a twin. Alice and I over the years, despite our recent fall out, had discovered this bond between us was stronger than any other bond we knew besides lovers. I trusted her even to my death.

"Why do you insist on being so stubborn?" he asked now raising his voice.

"I know my sister."

"You didn't know she was going to run away!"

"No, and frankly I have no idea how you even did in the first place."

He grew silent and contemplative for several seconds before he spoke again, "I can read minds, except for yours."

"Why can't you read mine? Is something wrong with me?"

He chuckled, "I tell you that I can read minds and you think there is something wrong with you?"

"Well, apparently there must be." He chuckled again. "So you read it on her mind?"

"She has an amazing ability herself," Edward commented as if I knew what he was referring to.

I guessed that he was talking about her premonitions. "She knew something was about to happen right before the accident. Is that how Jasper knew to come running?"

"Yeah. I guess her gift wasn't as developed back then."

"That was pretty amazing for her to sense that."

"Yeah, but she wasn't able to see things yet."

"See things?"

"Yeah." I arched an eyebrow in confusion, so he continued, "You did know she could see the future already." I shook my head hoping he would continue on. "Alice was able to see the future, and in her visions she was sure that she and Jasper were going to be happy together sometime. There was..." but he let that trail off.

"What?" I asked frantically wondering what he was about to say.

Edward shook his head and stated, "It's not important yet."

"It must be if you started to mention it."

"It's not important now," he said snapping at me in his impatience. And just as quickly as he snapped he reined himself in. "Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so mean to you."

But his apology was already lost on me and my stubborn anger. "Why don't you tell me anything? Why don't you want me knowing about my own sister or her visions?"

"Because this is not a world for you. You have no idea how difficult this life is, and knowing both you and Alice, you'll want to become a vampire yourself because you don't understand. You'd be giving up your chance on having a normal life, and even worse, you'd be giving up on your chance at the afterlife. You don't deserve to have that taken away from you because of someone's selfish desires."

I blinked my eyes a few times as I tried to comprehend everything he just said. For someone who often acted like he hated me, this was certainly a different side to Edward. It was almost as if he believed that he was protecting me by keeping things a secret from me.

What had Alice seen? Had she seen a vision of me also becoming a vampire? Was that what offended him so much, or was it the thought that he thought I would be missing out on what he thought life was supposed to be like? It was easy to see that he probably thought life was greener on the other side because I'm sure that he probably doesn't remember much about his human life since he's been a vampire much longer, or so I assumed based off of his mannerisms.

But the decision to make me a vampire would be one that I would make a long time from now. I wanted to finish high school and find Alice again before I'd seriously consider it. "I'm not changing anytime soon, so there's nothing for you to worry about. Right now I just want to see Alice again and know that she's okay." That was completely true. And I guess it couldn't help if I could get Charlie and Renee to stop fighting right now.

Edward looked at me with skepticism, but I wasn't about to let him start another argument. Without saying anything I walked away from him. "Where are you going?" he called after me.

"I guess I'm going home. I did come here to yell at you, but I guess it doesn't really matter anymore since we have different perspectives on this. However, I can see where you're coming from, especially since I don't know what it's like to be in your shoes."

Edward smiled this breath taking crooked smile of his and then laughed slightly while commenting, "You never cease to surprise me, Bella." I didn't know what to do, so I just laughed along with him for a few seconds.

He accompanied me down the stairs, and for once I felt like things were good between me and Edward. Maybe I could survive the school year with him.

–

A/N: Okay, so I know I've been a delinquent. In my defense, this was not exactly the easiest chapter to write. I could also mention that I've had an exciting May so far. In the past three weeks I got my first iPod (yes, I finally joined the 21st Century), finalized my divorce, spent an extended weekend with family and friends up north, got a new hairstyle, and turned 27.


	11. Interpret Guy Speak

For the rest of the weekend Renee practically smothered me. I suppose she probably is afraid that I'm going to pull an Alice and run away also, but she should know better because everyone knows Alice is more like her and I'm more sensible like Charlie. And considering the fact that my mother suddenly fled from Forks with Alice and I is certainly a clue that Alice would exhibit the same behavior.

You could feel the tension release from both Charlie and I the moment we saw her plane leave for the runway. I'm pretty sure we both let out sighs of relief audible to those around us. The ride home was blissfully silent as was our home. Don't get me wrong, I do love my mother, and I can honestly say that I miss her now that I don't see her everyday. The thing is, I was tired of the arguing and the smothering and wanted things to go back to normal.

Of course, things never will be normal again. Alice will never be here again, and if I ever see her again, Charlie and Renee will never get the chance to. As worried as I was for Alice, I was angry at her for doing this to her family even if it was for the love of her life. But then again, maybe I don't know what it's like to love someone so much that I'd leave my family for him. She better be that deeply in love with Jasper!

At school on Monday Mike made sure to seek me out as soon as I pulled into a parking spot. It wasn't hard for him to know when I got there considering how loud Tank is. "Hey, Bella," Mike said as soon as I opened the door to the cab. "It's good to see you back at school."

"Yeah," I said glumly as I grabbed my book bag from the passenger seat and slung it over my shoulders.

He followed after me like a lost puppy, and even after several months of this it still bothered me. "So," he said drawing out the word as he tried to not to not so gently ease into what he really wanted to say. "Have you gotten any leads on Alice's whereabouts yet?"

"No," I answered him promptly.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. But if you want someone to talk to..."

I cut him off before he could finish the sentence, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm doing fine." I hoped he realized that I was speaking to him through gritted teeth.

"So, you aren't mad that she ran off with Cullen?" he asked finally getting to the heart of what he was trying to find out from the start. It really didn't surprise me that Mike was interested in finding out if I'd be willing to do something so risky as what Alice did.

"I think she and Jasper were entirely irresponsible," I said crushing his dreams of getting me to do something irresponsible with him.

The hurt look on his face gave away his feelings. "Oh, yeah. I totally agree." His tone of voice didn't match up with what he was saying. "Well, I should be getting to class. I'll see you later." He waved slightly before practically running the other direction.

During lunch hour I sat down across the nearly empty table from Edward. He looked up from his book he was pretending to read and asked me, "What are you doing?"

"I'm eating lunch," I said casually to him. He eyed me suspiciously, so I asked him, "Is it okay for me to eat lunch or should I starve?"

"Why don't you eat lunch with your friends?" He looked in their direction, and I turned to look at them also. It seemed like most of the table and even most of the cafeteria was staring at us. Thankfully I had my back to them so I can't see the inquiring stares. It was bad enough having to suffer through the stares before, during, and after classes.

I turned back around to Edward and stated, "You know what they're thinking, so you can understand why I don't want to be sitting there right now. About the only two who aren't thinking about me are Angela and Ben because they're probably thinking about each other and are nice enough to give me my privacy."

"Yes, they are considerate enough, but they aren't thinking about each other." I raised an eyebrow hoping he knew that he had piqued my interest. "Angela's worried about a test in chemistry next hour and Ben is talking to Connor about a new anime." I chuckled as I looked back and noticed that there were indeed only three people at that table not interested in me right now.

I decided to inform him, although he probably already knew, "Jessica is acting like my press agent right now and licking up all the attention. Meanwhile Mike has already tried to find out if I was as irresponsible as Alice." I took a bite of my apple but my eyes stared at his intently.

"I would suggest staying away from Mike right now, or maybe always." There was a pause in which I assumed Edward was reading people's minds. "Most of the school is now wondering if we're involved."

My eyes grew wide in surprise. That was certainly laughable. Until today we barely even got along, and I wouldn't exactly call this a very friendly conversation considering the fact that he already tried to kick me away from his table. But then I thought I might have some fun with him, so I suggested to him sarcastically, "Aw, you mean they can see how much we love each other?" He chuckled lightly, so I continued playing along, "Are you going to kidnap me also and take me to your lair and change me also?"

That was the wrong thing to say becase his eyes grew dark and his features grave. "Don't joke about that!" he snapped at me.

"I know you wouldn't change me even if I begged," I said calmly hoping that it would diffuse the situation. Slowly the gold coloring returned but his expression didn't change. "Besides, if I wanted to be changed, I would probably ask Alice or Jasper to do it."

"Absolutely not! Neither of those two will have the control it takes! If Jasper didn't kill Alice it's only because he loves her."

"Then I guess I'll have to rely on Esme. I'm sure she'll help me out."

"Esme has never changed anyone before, so she probably wouldn't for fear of losing control."

"Carlisle," I suggested but didn't sound as resolute. I honestly didn't know Carlisle enough. "He obviously has changed you and Esme into vampires."

"Why are you suddenly interested in this?" he asked me probably to try and change the subject. Maybe this is a sign that Carlisle might help me.

I'm not quite sure when I decided that I was going to be changed some day. The last time I talked to him I wasn't going to think about it until later, yet it seemed right now that I was certain it was going to happen. "I suppose I need to start bothering you about it now so that eventually I can wear you down," I suggested lightheartedly. I flashed a smile hoping that he knew I was joking, and I think he did because he relaxed slightly.

Edward continued reading his book again. About five minutes later he finally commented, "Too many books these days depict vampires the way Hollywood does."

"I have noticed a few things that are different than the Hollywood version," I commented back.

"Only a few?"

"I've never heard of vampires having golden eyes or marble like skin. And considering how hard your skin is, I'm supposing that you can't be killed by being stabled in the heart by a wooden spike. You also have no problems with crosses since there was one up in your house. So I'm betting garlic doesn't do anything. And since you can be out during the day, I don't see why you would need to sleep in coffins because beds work just fine at night for you as they do for everyone else. It seems to be that the only true thing is that sunlight can kill you."

"We aren't killed by sunlight, and we don't sleep," he stated.

"If you aren't killed by sunlight, why are you never at school when the sun is out?"

He pursed his lips for a second before telling me, "Something else happens to us when we are in sunlight that would instantly make humans aware that we were different. That's why we stay away when the sun is out."

"Like what?" I asked sitting up straighter and leaning in towards him.

Instead of leaning in he leaned back and said, "I can't explain it to you. You would have to see it for yourself."

"Will you show me the next time the sun is out?" I asked him eagerly. "I really would like to see."

"The next time the sun is out I promise that I will show you what I look like in the sunlight." He then chuckled, "You seem to want to be a vampire pretty bad even though you don't know much about our lifestyle."

"I guess I just expect Alice to change me."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Well, I don't know, but I'm sure I'll come up with a better reason sometime in the future." Edward rolled his eyes, but I ignored him.

When I got home from school I checked the TV for the weather forecast. Sure enough, it had predicted that on the weekend it would be sunny. I knew in the back of my mind that Edward probably didn't intend on keeping his promise, but I always wasn't going to let him get out of it. On Saturday I would show up at his doorstep insisting that he keep his promise.

Since I had already promised Jacob that I would come visit him today, I then head for La Push. I saw an ambulance along the way heading in the opposite direction, but I didn't think anything of it until I got to La Push. I saw several vehicles parked in front of town hall and Jacob was standing in front of the building with some other guys about his age. As soon as I pulled up he was running to my truck and waiting impatiently for me to get out.

He didn't even give me the chance to greet him before he asked, "Did you see the ambulance heading for Forks when you drove up here?"

"Yeah."

"Oh man, Sam really screwed up this time."

"Sam?" I remember vaguely a guy named Sam at the meeting last week, but I don't particularly remember which one he was. "Which one was Sam again?"

"He's the leader of the wolf pack right now, but that's not what's important. He seriously injured his fiancée this afternoon. They were in the middle of an argument and he transformed and she was too close and he clawed half her face."

I didn't know what to say. What does someone say in a situation like that? "Do they think she's going to be okay?"

"She's going to survive, but I guess she's probably going to be physically scarred for the rest of her life." Jacob suddenly pulled me into a hug and said softly to me, "When I transform, I promise you that I will never hurt you."

The next day I had that on my mind as I sat at Edward's table again. "You scare me when you're silent," Edward said startling me.

I straightened up because apparently I had started slouching in my seat. "What makes you say that?" I asked him staring him in the eye.

"I can't read your mind, and it really bothers me that I don't know what you're thinking." His lips pulled down into a slight frown that didn't suit him.

"My mother always told me I was easy to read, that she could see my every emotion on my face."

Edward looked at me puzzled for a second before he said, "I don't think you're easy to read at all. Maybe that's why you seem so intriguing."

"Or maybe I'm intriguing because I'm the only person whose mind you can't read," I suggested before taking a sip of my lemonade. My stomach was too knotted for me to eat anything today. It was weird, but I got the notion that Jacob meant more by what he had said last night, but I can't be sure. I wished that Alice had been there to interpret guy speak for me.

"So what are you thinking about?" Edward asked me.

I stared at him for a second wondering if I could ask him about Jacob's bizarre statement, but then I thought twice about it because I didn't know Edward well enough to ask him personal questions like that. Instead I told him the story about what happened to Sam's fiancée, who I found out later is named Emily. Edward listened intently with a grim expression set on his handsome face, so I especially decided to leave out the part about Jacob hugging me.

As soon as I was finished with the story he commanded me, "You are not going to spend any more time in La Push."

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" I asked defiantly putting my hands on my hips.

"Bella, your family already lost Alice. They don't need to lose you also. Those werewolves are dangerous because they can't control their anger. Newly formed werewolves are even more dangerous because they have no self-control whatsoever. Promise me that you won't go there anymore."

"I'm not promising anything. Jacob hasn't transformed yet, so he's still okay to hang out with."

"Are you going to be able to stay away when he does turn?" Edward questioned me. I don't suppose I had thought of that, but right now I was being kind of selfish and wanted to spend time with Jacob to help fill out the hole left in my heart by Alice's disappearance. When I was with Jacob this weekend I forgot about Alice's disappearance and my parents' arguing. He was my little escape from reality.

But I wasn't about to let Edward get the best of me even if I didn't honestly know the answer. "I'll come to that bridge when it happens." Then I added for good measure, "Besides, wouldn't you rather have spend time with Jacob if it means that he's keeping me from thinking about changing into a vampire?" And that effectively shut up Edward for that lunch period. I was sure that he would bring it up at a later date, but right now I needed to figure out what Jacob meant and why Edward suddenly became so protective of me.

–

A/N: Wow, I hadn't expected to check my email on Friday night to find 19 emails about the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or added me to their list(s). This story has more reviews, is on more favorites lists, and is on more story alert lists than any of my other 6 stories.

The outpouring really encouraged me to push out this chapter faster. I would have probably gotten it out sooner had I not been fighting headaches half the weekend as my eyes adjust to my new glasses. I also found late on Friday night that my beta reader had to have her gallbladder removed on Friday, which took me entirely by surprise because I had just spent the previous Friday with her and she seemed completely fine then. Thankfully it sounds like she's recovering but will be out of work for 2 weeks. She mentioned that she's going to be bored those two weeks, so maybe I can write more during that time to keep her busy.


	12. The Meadow

A/N: I can assure you that this is a Bella and Edward story. Sorry to those of you who thought this was a Bella and Emmett story, but from the start I thought it was clear that this was a Bella and Edward story. But for the Bella and Edward lovers, this is definitely a cute, fluffy chapter for you.

–

On Thursday I sat with Alice's friends again and had to endure their endless questions about what I thought happened to Alice. They apparently don't know me well because none of them could tell that I was lying to them. I guess Edward could hear what we were talking about because I would often look up at him after I lied only to see him smiling this breath taking crooked grin that told me that he was laughing at their gullibility and perhaps my horrible lying skills.

Friday he wasn't even at school, so I had no choice but to subject myself to more questions. So far the story goes that Alice ran away because she was in love with Jasper but his family didn't approve of the match. I hoped Esme and Carlisle aren't too upset with the story because frankly it's close to the truth.

Saturday morning I came downstairs as Charlie was finishing his breakfast. "Bells, are you going to be at home if I go out?"

I took a box of cereal out of the cabinet and avoided looking at him as I asked, "Did Billy finally convince you to go fishing with him today?"

"You must have talked to Jacob recently?" he asked as he rinsed off his plate and the leaned up against the counter. "I'm glad that you're spending time with Jacob. It's good that you have someone you can talk to."

I gave him a quick, weak smile as I turned my head to look at him. "We really don't talk about it, which is probably why I like hanging out with him." There was a long pause between us while I poured the cereal and milk into a bowl. "You should go fishing today. I'm sure the station will contact you if they get any good leads."

"I just don't feel right leaving you at home alone today," he commented. "Were you planning on visiting Jacob today, because if you were I could give you a ride."

I shook my head before heading over to the table. My back stayed turned to him because I didn't want to see his expression as I told him, "I was thinking of going over to the Cullen's house today because Edward offered to help me with some of my homework left over from missing school last week."

"So you're spending time with one of the Cullen boys?" he asked gruffly. "I don't like the idea of my other daughter spending time with that family."

I don't blame Charlie for worrying. Truthfully, he should be worried. Some day I too would belong to that family leaving him entirely alone. At least Renee had Phil, but Charlie wouldn't have anyone. Sitting down at the table I assured him, "We're just friends, and he's just helping me with my homework before he's trying to catch up also." When I looked over at Charlie he was rolling that thought over in his mind, which showed on his face as strange expressions.

"Just as long as that's all it is," he stated before getting up and walking over to the closet where he stored his fishing gear. "If you need anything, just call the station and they'll radio me," he called out as he left the house.

My shoulders relaxed as I realized that I had managed to get away with another lie without getting caught. Charlie apparently didn't know me any better either, but I don't suppose I've given him a whole lot of chances. The stuff about Edward and I being friends wasn't far from the truth, or at least I hoped that it wasn't, but I really didn't intend on studying anything while I was over there.

There was a knock on the side door, so I got up and opened the door only to find the objection of my thoughts standing there. His silver Volvo was no where in sight. "Uh, what are you doing here?" I asked confused. The plan was for me to go over to his house and demand that he keep his promise, not for him to come here.

"If you don't want me here, I can leave," he said turning to leave.

I called after him, "Wait! I was kind of planning on heading over to your house." When he turned back to me I blushed. Why did I suddenly feel shy around him? Where was the confident Bella that was going to demand he kept his promise.

"Yeah, I heard that in Charlie's mind. He's not too happy with the idea." I just rolled my eyes before stepping out of the way to let him into the house. "Why don't you come in and let me finish my breakfast and then we can head out. I guess you already watched the weather forecast today."

"Yeah. We tend to keep on top of things like that."

Edward intently watched me eat like it was the most interesting thing in the world, which makes me wonder what he does for entertainment if he thinks that's interesting. Maybe he likes watching paint dry or the grass grow.

When we climbed into the truck he threw in a picnic basket that I hadn't noticed before. "What's that?" I asked him.

"Lunch." I looked at him strangely wondering whose lunch it was. "The human needs to eat," he commented with his signature smirk. I just rolled my eyes and pulled onto the road. "I'm taking you somewhere special."

"Where are we going?" I asked skeptically.

His grin grew larger as he announced, "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises," I whined.

"I know. Alice thought about that once."

"Yet you insist on not telling me where we're going?"

"Exactly." We drove about ten minutes out of town before heading down a rarely used dirt road that ended in the middle of nowhere. "Now we walk," he said as soon as I stopped the truck.

"What?" I asked him but he was already out of the truck. Then in a flash he was opening my door. I vaguely remembered Jacob telling me that vampires moved at incredible speeds. He helped me get out of the truck before grabbing the basket out of the bed of the truck and heading into the forest. "Are you seriously suggesting that we walk there?"

"Yeah," he said not turning around.

"How far is it?"

He stopped and turned around to notice that I hadn't moved an inch since I got out of the truck. "About a couple of miles away from here."

I stomped my foot on the ground like a child, but frankly I didn't care how childish I looked at that moment. "Me, walk two miles in the forest? Are you trying to bring me back to Charlie with a broken bone or sprained ankle?"

Now he rolled his eyes and said to me, "I'm here to catch you when you fall, but you need to start walking for that to happen." I slowly followed along with my arms crossed over my chest and stomping for the first several feet before I figured it was better for my balance to walk normally and with my hands out to try and balance myself.

I almost fell several times on the way there, but his quick hands always managed to grab me and put me back onto my two feet before I could fall to the forest floor. It was weird, but I swear that every time he touched me there was this electric current that seemed to run through me and cause my heart to beat ten times faster. I wondered if Edward could hear the beating of my heart, but if he did, he certainly didn't let me know.

After a long time of walking he stopped me by standing in my way. "Close your eyes," he commanded me.

"Are you kidding me?" Edward shook his head. "First you ask me to walk two miles through the forest, and now you expect me to walk with my eyes closed? I'll ask you once again, are you trying to send me to the emergency room?"

"I believe you asked me before if I would return you to Charlie with a broken leg or sprained ankle. But as I said before, I will catch you if you fall."

Instead of letting me close my own eyes, he covered my eyes with one of his cold marble hands. The other hand was placed on my lower back to guide me. We walked another couple of minutes before he lifted his hand from my face.

Before me was a glorious meadow carpeted by the softest grass and thousands of flowers in multiple colors. The trees standing at the edge of the meadow made a perfect circle. And shining down on half of this meadow was the long missed sunlight.

While I admired the space in front of me, Edward was moving towards the sunlit side of the meadow. "Are you still interested in seeing what happens to us in the sunlight?" he asked me as he unbutton the front of his button down shirt. And then he stepped into the light.

I thought the meadow was beautiful, but Edward's skin at that moment was the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. It was like there were thousands of tiny mirrors reflecting back the light of the sun making him appear to sparkle. I understood now what he meant when he said that if a vampire was seen in the sunlight it would be noticeable.

"What are you thinking?" he asked me. I'm sure my jaw flapped open and shut a few times making me look like a fish. Edward stepped back into the darkness and buttoned up his shirt again. "I was astonished the first time I saw myself."

"Wow!" I finally managed to say, which caused his grin to grow so large that it touched his eyes. "Do you all look like that in the sun?" I wanted to bang my head against a wall at that moment. Of course they all look like that! "Never mind, I don't know what I was asking."

"Do you have any more questions about vampires?" he asked me before taking a seat on the soft grass with his back to me.

I moved to sit in front of him but in the sunlight that felt refreshingly warm on this cool day. "You said before that you don't sleep. What do you do all night if you don't sleep?"

"We all have hobbies." He winced slightly as he said that, so that just piqued my curiosity.

"Like?"

"Well, Emmett and Jasper like to play chess. Rosalie likes to fix cars, and Emmett often helps her but mostly lifts things. Esme has an extensive garden, and she likes interior design. Carlisle and Jasper both read extensively. Jasper is mostly interested in the Civil War. He's actually written a book that is still quite successful." There was a pause before he told me, "Emmett and Rosalie almost found Jasper and Alice."

"What?" I asked in surprise. It wasn't until he leaned back from me before I realized that I had leaned so far forward I was almost in his face. Once I realized that I leaned back and blushed a deep red.

Edward just ignored it and spoke, "Alice is still alive, and her abilities are quite good because she must have known they were closing in on her. It seems that they fled only hours before Emmett and Rosalie got there. They did leave a note saying that they were okay. She wanted us to tell you that she loves you and will talk to you soon when she's got more control over herself."

Tears started to leak from my eyes. Alice is okay! She's more than okay, she's got at least enough control over herself to control her new ability and to be able to write me a letter telling me how much she loves me!

Edward continued on, "Rosalie decided to ask around the nearest town if they had seen Alice or Jasper, and the priest said that he had married a young couple just last week. When they didn't have a marriage license he told them that he couldn't legally marry them, but they insisted that he do it for religious purposes."

"But Alice isn't religious," I contradicted him. No one in our family has really been a church goer.

"But Jasper is. He may not go to church anymore, but all of us were raised during a time in history when you went to church every Sunday. Alice probably just went along with it because she knew Jasper would not settle down with her unless it was done properly."

"How old is Jasper?"

He proceeded to tell me Jasper's story, and then the stories of how all the Cullen's came to be in the household. Jasper's story was different because he was actually changed by a vampire who had only changed him to build up an army of newborns. Thankfully due to his abilities she spared him, but he had to run away because after awhile she had plotted to get rid of him. And Jasper's interest in the Civil War stems from the fact that he was a general in the Civil War.

Edward, on the other hand, was born at the turn of the Twentieth Century, and he would have fought in World War I had he not nearly died in the Spanish Influenza pandemic. His mother, on her deathbed, had begged Carlisle to change Edward, and being as lonely as Carlisle was, he did eventually give in to her.

"Do you ever miss your parents? Your old friends?"

"Every day," he informed me. "But I'm lucky to have the rest of my family to fill in the gap."

I don't know how long we had been out here, but it seemed like it had been hours. My stomach decided then to remind me that it had also been hours since my last meal. Edward ran back into the forest to pick up the basket and brought it to me. Esme had packed for me a delicious sandwich, which surprised me since I wouldn't expect vampires to have food in their homes. But then again, she also does garden, so she must do something with that food.

"So, what are your hobbies?" I finally asked him. I had wanted to ask him earlier before he sprung Alice's little surprise on me.

Edward tilted his head to the side and let some of the sun catch on his forehead causing it to sparkle. "I like to play the piano and listen to music. Reading helps pass the time. And lately I've kind of taken up a new hobby." He smiled me in a strange knowing way.

"And what is this new hobby?" I asked before taking a bite of my sandwich.

"That is for me to know and you to find out later," he said with his sexy crooked smile glaring back at me. I glared back at him, but my face must have been pretty silly looking because he laughed at me. We sat in more silence before he suggested, "Do you want to play Twenty Questions with me?"

"Like what kinds of questions are you going to ask?"

"Oh, just simple ones to start. Like what's your favorite color or what's your middle name. Are you interested?"

So we played Twenty Questions, which turned into more like Forty Questions over the course of the afternoon. The only reason we had to stop was the fact that the sun was starting to become covered by the clouds again. "We should get going. It's going to rain again soon," Edward announced as he stood up. He offered his hand to help pull me up, which was nearly effortless for him. "Climb onto my back. We don't have time to walk back."

I was about to protest except I felt a drop of rain hit me squarely on the forehead. He leaned down so I could climb onto his bag and then wrap my legs around his waist. And then we were flying through the forest faster than any car I had ever been in. The scenery flew by in such a blur that my brain had so much trouble comprehending it and I started to feel my head pound and my stomach revolt.

When we got to my truck he stopped suddenly and bent down to allow me to get down only I couldn't seem to let go. "My head hurts," I whined. "And I think I'm going to be sick."

Edward chuckled at my comment and let go of me so that I slid down onto the ground. This time he picked me up and put me in the passenger side of my truck. "Let me have your keys," he suggested.

"This is my truck, I should drive," I protested.

Edward held out his hand and pointed out, "You're in no shape to drive. I'll take you home."

"What about you? How will you get home?"

He laughed at me as he answered, "If I can run a couple of miles in just seconds, it won't take long for me to run home." I groaned before handing him my keys. Sure enough, it started raining just as we pulled away and headed for my home.

I was thankful that Charlie wasn't home yet because I still hadn't gotten all my bearings back by the time Edward got me home. It was kind of entertaining listening to Edward complain the entire way home about how slow my truck moves, and it also took my mind off of the motion sickness. Next time I do that I'm definitely closing my eyes.

Edward carried me up into my room and laid me down on my bed. I don't know how he figured out which room it was, but I was too far gone to ask at the time. The beginning of my dream that night started with the feel of his cold lips pressing against my forehead and his soft voice telling me, "Good night, love."

That was the first night I dreamed of Edward. We were back in the meadow with Alice and Jasper. When the sun came out I watched in rapture as their skin started to sparkle before realizing that mine was also.


	13. Phone Calls

Since they knew Alice's abilities were too great to outwit her, Rosalie and Emmett came right home after their dead end. This meant that all I could do was wait around for Alice to contact me.

In the meantime I had plenty of distractions. Jacob and I hung out nearly every other day. A month after Alice's disappearance he introduced me to the pack. They aren't exactly a pack yet. As of October there were only three of them: Sam, Paul, and Jared. But there were several others who were included in the pack because it was assumed that they too would become werewolves. Those included Quil, Embry, Seth, and Jacob, of course.

Then there were their imprints. Jacob told me that destiny tells them who their perfect mate is. Sam once told me that when he imprinted on Emily it felt like everything in the world around him disappeared the first time he laid eyes on her. All he could sense was her as if his entire life revolved her and her happiness. It sounds to me like true love at first sight. Okay, so in some cases they've seen each other before, but for others it is love at first sight.

Jacob doesn't act very optimistic about his future imprint spouting off something about finding the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with already. He won't tell me who, but I have to wonder if it isn't someone he goes to school with that he's too afraid to confess his feelings to. Why else wouldn't I see him hanging out with any girls who aren't imprinted upon?

When I wasn't hanging out with Jacob, I would hang out at the Cullens' house. Esme was more than happy to let me hang out there, and Emmett loved having me as his entertainment because he thought my klutziness was better than anything he could find on TV. The only person who didn't like me being there was Rosalie at first. I can remember the first day she was back that I showed up on their doorstep. Carlisle had just let me into the house and she was sitting in the living room and commented out loud, "Looks like we have another human problem."

"Rosalie," Esme said sternly with a warning clearly in her voice. Rosalie glared at Esme, but one look from Carlisle and huffed and gave up returning her gaze back to the fashion magazine in her hand. That afternoon Emmett pretty much kept me entertained because I seriously think he felt sorry for Rosalie's cold treatment. After that day she still made it known every now and then that she didn't exactly like the idea of me being there, but she was becoming less vocal about it and usually stayed out of my way.

Most of the time I just hung out in Edward's room listening to music and working on my homework. Sometimes we would play 20 questions again, but most of the time was spent in companionable silence. Something happened in the meadow to turn a new leaf over in our relationship. We went from barely tolerating each other to real friends.

Then my life was turned upside down again in November. I was over at their house hanging out in Edward's room when I heard the sound of Emmett's booming voice filling the house. My human hearing could not detect what he was saying, but Edward's vampire hearing could. "Emmett said that there is someone on the phone for you." The tone in his voice made it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

I made my way down the stairs slowly assuming it was my father who was calling because Jacob certainly wouldn't call me while I was over here. But when I got to the kitchen I noticed that Esme looked on the verge of tears. However, she cannot cry because she's a vampire, but I'm sure that if she could she would be at this moment. I picked up the phone slowly and said, "Hello?"

The southern accent on the other side of the phone shocked me, "Bella, this is Jasper."

I dropped the phone immediately out of complete shock. I had waited months for this phone call, and yet I was still completely shocked when it happened. Edward was right behind me and picked up the receiver and growled something so low and fast that I couldn't tell what it was. Esme and Carlisle both looked unnerved at what Edward had said. Carlisle in a second was standing behind Edward whispering in his ear, and whatever was said caused the anger and bitterness within Edward to dissipate.

Slowly, even for human speed, Edward handed me the phone receiver again. As soon as it was safely in my hands he stormed out of the house. Carlisle apologized to me before following Edward leaving me in the room with Esme and Emmett. "Jasper, it's Bella again," I said into the phone as I watched Esme's face.

"I apologize for calling you instead of Alice, but she still doesn't feel strong enough to come out in public. The abandoned cabin we're living in right now doesn't have a phone, so I'm having to use a pay phone in town," he explained to me sounding remorseful.

"It's okay. I completely understand. I don't suppose she'll be able to be around humans for another couple of years. But I am curious as to why you left her alone." I didn't mean to be ungrateful, but I feared more that during this time if some hapless came upon Alice at this moment there would be nothing stopping them from becoming her meal.

He laughed lightheartedly setting me back a little. "Actually, Alice has displayed remarkable control. I can't explain it because I've never seen a newborn behave that way. Everything about her surprises me."

"But that's also one of the reasons you love her," I said softly.

"Absolutely. It's one of many things." There was no hesitation in his voice, and my heart soared with joy for my sister. She was lucky enough to find a man who was irrevocably in love with her despite her strangeness. Or maybe I should say it's because of her strangeness that he loves her. And he was so in love with her he was willing to commit to her for all of eternity! And I know this is horrible of me, but in some small way I became jealous of what they have.

There was a strange silence on the phone, so I assumed he expected me to speak next. "How is Alice, other than the control thing? I assume the transformation went well."

"Nothing about her has changed except for the usual changes a vampire goes through. She still loves you and tells me stories continually about the both of you when you were younger. And I know she desperately wants to talk to you soon."

"Tell her that I want to talk to her as soon as possible."

"I will."

I look over at Esme and noticed her smiling a genuine smile now. The look of sadness before was probably more out of concern and happiness at hearing her long lost child. Edward's behavior probably didn't help the matter any. "I should probably let you speak to anyone else here who wants to speak to you," I said to him.

"Actually, I've already spoken to Carlisle and Esme, so you were the last one."

"Oh, well, I guess I should just let you go so that you can get back to Alice." He agreed with me, and before he could hang up the phone I blurted out, "And Jasper, welcome to the family. I'm glad that out of anyone, you're my brother-in-law."

"You don't know how much that means to me to hear you say that. Because you're Alice twin sister, it's your opinion of me that matters most in her family."

This time we did really end the phone call, and Esme engulfed me in a secure hug. All of the anger and anxiety of the past three months washed away from me just at the sound of his voice and upon being assured that Alice was fine. Now I was just anxious to hear her voice again, but I suspected that even the sound of her voice wouldn't be enough. I don't think I would stop worrying completely about her until I saw her with my own two eyes.

It was another month before anyone received word again from Jasper. And of course he waited until I was at their house before he called. "Bella," Emmett yelled up the stairs again. This time I could easily understand what he was saying, so I left the room before Edward could say anything.

I picked up the phone gingerly and answered, "Hey, Jasper. How's Alice?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself," he stated before he handed the phone over.

"Bella," Alice's even more musical voice floated through the receiver of the phone and into my ear. Tears started to well up in my eyes as I gasped in shock. I can now hear her giggling, probably at already knowing how I'd react.

"Alice, is that really you?"

"Of course it is, silly. You didn't seriously think that I'd let Jasper call you again when I could join him. It's not easy sitting amongst humans, but now I entirely understand what Jasper feels. He's spent most of his life feeding on human blood, so the vegetarian diet hasn't exactly been very satisfying to him."

I can just picture her standing in a phone booth playing with Jasper's messy curls while she talks so lovingly about him. "Congratulations, by the way. I heard that you two got married!" I try to sound extremely happy, but mostly I'm still in a state of shock.

"Yeah. It wasn't the extravagantly large wedding I had always hoped for, but I'm happy knowing that I'm Mrs. Jasper Whitlock Hale Cullen, or something like that," she said with a giggle. "But don't worry about your wedding because I've already seen that you're going to allow me to do all the details for it."

Sarcastically I said to her, "Don't you think there needs to be a groom? I don't think I can marry myself." This in turns earns a laugh from her. "Unless you've seen a groom somewhere in my future," I suggested hopefully. I don't really know what came over me. It's not like I really had been in a hurry to get married, but listening to Alice and Jasper talk so lovingly about each other made me wish for some romantic happiness of my own.

"I have seen a groom in your future. Actually, I see two men fighting over who's going to be your groom." Now it was my turn to laugh. "I'm not kidding, Bella. You may not think guys are looking at you, but how many times did you get asked to the prom last year?" At this my laughter ended abruptly. Damn, I hated it when she had an illustration to her point. "Granted, they weren't exactly the pick of the litter, but these two certainly are." That brought another smile to my face.

"I wish you were here to help me with guy problems," I said glumly. "Not that I have a whole lot of them, but in case something exciting does happen."

She is completely serious as she answers me back, "I wish I were there too. I'm hoping that since I'm progressing so well that I'll be back in Forks before graduation. I know I won't be able to show up in town, but we can visit when you're at the house." She sounded so hopeful that I couldn't help but think she really intends upon accomplishing this task.

We didn't talk much more because Alice also wanted to talk to everyone else in the house. They all genuinely seemed happy to be talking to her, except for Edward, who held his tongue and reluctantly behaved on the phone. When Edward and I head back up to his room I felt compelled to ask him, "Why do you hate Alice so much?"

He turned to me rather surprised at my anger tone used against him. "Bella, how can you so easily forgive her when she's put you and your family through so much?" he asked me sincerely. His eyes are intently staring into my own.

"Because I love her, and even though she hurt me, I can't be angry at her. I'm more relieved than anything to know that she's safe and happy." He mulls it over in his mind for a few seconds before he turns his attention to the wall of shelves containing his large CD collection. We didn't talk about it again for the rest of the night or for the next few months.

And Alice called like clockwork every week on Wednesday nights about the same time. I was always over at their house when she called at first, but when I figured out the pattern I insisted on being there at that time. We would sit on the phone for an hour sometimes, often talking about a wide range of topics. Most of the time she would fire off all kinds of questions about everyone from Forks that she missed, and I would give her all the latest news that I knew about. I really didn't follow the lives of most of the people too often, but for her I tried to pay attention on the days that I sat at their table.

And as the school year progressed I held in the hope that I would see her before graduation. When it came time to fill out college applications I tended to choose places close to Forks, but that didn't sit well with Edward. "Bella, you would have gone to school outside of the state even if Alice hadn't run away. Don't let her hold you back," he would constantly lecture me as he placed another set of applications.

"Harvard? Dartmouth? Are you serious?" I asked him one day in February. "I can't get into these schools much less afford them. Even if I could ask my mother to help, Phil doesn't make a ton of money playing for a minor league team."

He rolled his eyes at me. I don't think I had ever seen Edward roll his eyes at me before, and I think I started laughing so hard because it wasn't like him at all. "Bella," he said so seriously it made my laughter cease immediately. "It wouldn't hurt to try. I graduated from both schools, and they're great schools."

"You also have a lot of money. Oh, and how many high school and college diplomas do you have? I'm not that smart."

"You won't know until you try," he said pushing them closer to me. I rolled my eyes at him this time but set about filling out the first application. "Have you heard back from Arizona University yet?"

"I got that in the mail yesterday. Another congratulations and welcome to blah blah blah," I said not sounding all too enthusiastic. I had always wanted to go there back when I lived in Arizona. It was one of the best public schools in the country, and it would be in the same state that I lived in so it would be more affordable. I guess since my mother still owns the house in Phoenix I could try to bargain with them for the in-state tuition rate, if I chose to go.

Edward nodded his head. I knew he wanted me to go there because it would get me away from here and hopefully keep me from continuing on my pursuit of becoming a vampire. But the more I talked with Alice the more I knew becoming a vampire was my destiny.

--

A/N: I'm sorry for the short chapter. The next part is going to be a whole other chapter of it's own and hopefully longer, so I thought it was best to end it here for now.


	14. Beating Heart

In Phoenix, people picked their prom dates in January and had their outfits picked out by early March. Prom was in late April. In Forks they waited only one month before finding their dates. So I hadn't expected Mike Newton to come up to me the first week of March and ask, "Hey, I was wondering if anyone's asked you to prom yet?" He seemed to be looking around for someone because he looked everywhere but my eyes.

"No."

"Edward hasn't asked you?" he questioned with his eyebrows raised. In turn, I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion at him. Why would Edward ask me to prom? Edward never thought of me in that way. He was pushing me away more than pulling me in. "Well, I thought with all the time you have been spending with him, you two might be...going out or something. Besides, it seems like you Swan girls are attracted to the Cullen boys."

Mike was clearly jealous of Edward, but after a year I thought Mike would get the clue that I wasn't interested in him. "No, Edward hasn't asked me, and I highly doubt he will," I said bitterly. I didn't know what had come over me just then. It wasn't like I wanted to go to prom, so why did I sound upset upon hearing the truth? "I wasn't even planning on going to prom this year. It's been kind of a rough year, and I'm not in the mood." I didn't even give him a chance to respond before walking away.

During lunch I sat with Edward because I knew I couldn't sit at the same table as Mike. "I heard you turned down Mike for the prom again," Edward started as soon as I sat down.

"Did you expect a different outcome?" My voice was still on edge, and I hoped he would get the clue to drop the conversation.

But Edward never dropped a subject if he brought it up on purpose. "I was a little surprised at how upset you were that I didn't ask you to prom." That ever-knowing crooked smirk crossed his face, and I wanted to slap it off right then and there. Of course, that was why he brought this up in the first place. "Do you want me to ask you to the prom?"

"No!" I snapped at him. "Why would I want to go to the prom with you? You're frustrating, and your mood swings drive me insane! Besides, I'm too much of a klutz to dance, so can we just drop this conversation!" He thankfully didn't say anymore, but that stupid smirk stayed on his face for the rest of lunch. I ended up leaving the cafeteria early just to get away from him sooner before I slapped him.

I didn't bother going to the Cullens' house that night just to avoid Edward and his smirk and the strange irritation that was eating at me because of Mike's questions. Jacob came out to meet me as soon as I pulled the truck into his driveway. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you today," he commented as he opened the door once the engine was turned off.

"I didn't want to deal with Edward anymore today." A sickeningly happy smile crossed his face. I knew they disliked each other, and I had seen Edward have his moments where he made known his hatred for Jacob. "I hope you don't mind me hanging out here tonight, do you?"

"I love it when you hang out here with me," he said with a smirk, and for some reason I got a gut wretching feeling in my stomach at the sight of his smirk. Yet despite my instinct, I followed him to the shed and sat down in the Rabbit while he worked on a motorcycle engine. "So what was Edward bothering you about?" he asked trying to get me more angry at Edward.

"It doesn't matter," I muttered. "I guess I'm more angry at Mike than Edward."

"What did Mike do this time?" he asked with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes and answered, "He asked me to prom again after asking if Edward had. Why does he think Edward would want to go with me? And why does he not get the clue I'm not interested in him after all this time?"

"So Edward hasn't asked you to the prom yet?" Did I detect a hint of hope in his voice? "Because I was kind of hoping he hadn't."

"I'll give you the same answer the I gave Mike: Why would Edward ask me to the prom? It's not like I'm special or anything."

"Edward may not see how special you are, but I do." He walked over to me, placed his arms on the frame of the door just above my head, and leaned down so he was only inches from my face. "I was kind of hoping to ask you to prom myself." He paused and I waited for him to say something more. This felt very awkward. "So, will you go to the prom with me?" he asked leaning closer.

I leaned back before pushing him away from me gently. Maybe I had been wrong thinking Jacob was in love with someone else. Maybe all this time he had feelings for me. It certainly seemed like it at this very moment, and it scared me. I had never pictured Jacob as anything more than a friend, and the fact that he was trying to be intimate at this moment felt very wrong. But I didn't want to hurt his feelings. "I'm not going to prom," I told him with as much sincerity as possible. It wasn't a lie; I really wasn't going to prom.

Jacob looked confused for a second before saying, "Then we could just hang out here that night," he said with a little hope still left.

"I'll think about it," I blustered before pushing past him and heading for the shed doors.

He called after me, "Where are you going?"

"I forgot Alice might call me tonight. I'm sorry." And then I ran. I wasn't graceful and tripped several times, but I got to my truck as fast as I could and pealed out. In my rear view mirror I could see Jacob standing in his driveway looking completely confused. My mind told me not to turn back no matter how pathetic he looked.

The next day I avoided sitting at lunch with Edward. He knew something was strange since I always sat with him, but he only eyed me a couple of times from across the room and remained silent. I made sure to avoid any contact with him for the rest of the day even nearly running to my truck to get off of school grounds before he could confront me.

I sadly locked myself in the house that night, making Charlie rather suspicious about my behavior. "So, Bells, Billy tells me you left his house rather abruptly yesterday," Charlie led off. He had already suspected my behavior from the start.

"Yeah, I forgot I had promised Esme that I would come over for dinner last night."

"You could have called her to let her know you forgot, and then you could have stayed with Jacob longer."

"No thanks," I mumbled before heading up the stairs and to my bedroom.

The next morning I waited for Charlie to leave for another day of fishing with Billy before I attempted to step out of my room. I was just finished eating breakfast when the phone rang, but I was too afraid to answer it in case Jacob or Edward was on the other end. Instead, I let the machine pick it up and after the beep I heard Alice say, "Bella, I know you're there. Pick up the phone and then erase this message."

I immediately picked up the phone and stopped the ancient answering machine. "Why are you calling me here?"

"Because you obviously need my help right now, duh." I could imagine her rolling her eyes at me. "So, you finally figured out Jacob's feelings for you?"

"I don't know. You tell me since your the psychic."

"I can't see the thoughts in your head. That ability belongs to Edward, and even he can't see into your head."

"But you're my twin, and we're supposed to share special insights into each other," I laughed.

"I can tell what's in the future for you unless someone changes their mind suddenly. I think that's good enough," she huffed. "Speaking of which, I see prom in your future."

Now I rolled my eyes before informing her, "No, I'm not going to prom. I can't dance, and I refuse to go and sit there all night by myself."

"You aren't going by yourself. Edward is going with you," she chirped happily over the sound of clapping hands.

"Edward?" I asked skeptically. "Edward is not asking me to the prom. We already had this conversation at lunch on Thursday."

"No, I believe you lied to him about how you can't stand him so he wouldn't ask you."

"Even if that were true, you know as well as I do that Edward would never ask me on a date, much less to prom. I'm not good enough for him." The more I said it, the more it felt as if my heart was tearing into two pieces. I could feel myself practically heaving as my chest constricted in pain.

Alice's voice was soft as she commanded me, "Breathe, Bella. It's going to be okay. You're going to see that Edward does care about you more than you give him credit." And then she squealed, "I can't believe you finally fell in love with someone!"

My jaw dropped open when I finally recognized the words she spoke. Me, in love with Edward? "That's impossible, Alice," I snapped at her.

"You can't lie to your heart, which is pounding heavily in your chest at this moment. Every time you even think about him your heart beats faster. Your nerves are on a heightened sense of awareness when he's near, and it's like you can tell when he's near without even having to see him."

I sank into a chair and grasped at my overstimulated heart. "How do you know all of that?" I asked in stunned astonishment.

"Because that's how I feel about my Jazzy." I could hear them kiss softly in the background, making me feel envious that I didn't have anyone to hold me and say sweet things about me.

A few seconds after her statement the doorbell rang. "Alice, someone is at the door."

"I know. It's Esme and Rosalie. I asked them to take you shopping for a prom dress." She started squealing in excitement again. "I love your dress! Esme has great taste."

"Alice," I whined. "I'm not going to prom."

She snapped at me, "Yes you are, so stop whining and go have fun shopping."

"Fine," I gave in. "But you'll owe me big time if I'm correct and I end up not enjoying myself."

"I already know you're going to have a great time. Remember, I'm the psychic one. You're just the one who blocks people's mental abilities." And with that I heard a click and the line go dead.

The door bell rang again, so I hung up the phone and erased the message before going to answer it. "Hello, Esme," I greeted her before moving out of the way so she could step in. "Alice told me you were coming." I tried to make sure she could tell by the tone of my voice I was not happy with this whole plan.

"Bella, I know you don't like shopping, but Rosalie and I promise we will make this as painless as possible," Esme assured me. Rosalie just huffed and then stalked back to the car. Esme gave me an uneasy look as if apologizing for Rosalie behavior, which didn't get any better the rest of the day.

They took me to Port Angeles, and, as Rosalie shopped for her dress, Esme picked out several dresses for me to try. She had been right in saying it wouldn't take long because we found the dress in a matter of twenty minutes. Then she insisted on purchasing the dress for me, telling me they had plenty of money thanks to a stock tip given to them by Alice. I tried to resist, but Esme would not take 'no' for an answer.

Except for Rosalie's behavior, I enjoyed myself more than I thought. Esme was so obliging I felt like I was taking advantage of her when it was she who made me come along. She had even offered to let me come the day of prom to do my hair and make up like Alice used to do when she wanted to play Bella Barbie. That thought saddened me because I wanted more than anything for Alice to be there on such a big day if it's supposed to be the big rite of passage Alice made it out to be.

"So, did you have fun shopping with Esme and Rosalie?" Edward asked me as I sat down in the chair across the table from him on Monday.

I glared at him before turning my attention to my salad. "It was okay, but I don't quite know why they insisted on taking me because I'm not going." I speared a couple leafs of lettuce with my fork a little harsher than was necessary. "Stupid prom," I mumbled mostly to myself.

"You should go. It's an important rite of human passage."

I pointed my fork at him as I talked. "I'm so tired of hearing that. If you have your way, I'll never become a vampire, so why do I have to pretend like I need to do these human things as a rite of passage."

"Because this is your only chance to do this, especially since you're going to stay a human." He plastered that smirk on his face again as he leaned back in his chair and let his arm rest on the top of the chair next to him. "Besides, I kind of assumed that we were going together, so I already bought a tux."

I could feel my heavily beating heart slam into my ribs painfully. He bought a tux? He assumed we were going together? It was hard to focus on anything with my heart pounding so loudly in my ears, but I was sure I asked him, "Whoever said I was going to prom with you?" The tone in my voice was not joking, and I thought I saw his eyes flicker in pain for a second before a calmness settled in them again.

"You seemed so disappointed that I hadn't asked you that I assumed that you wanted to go with me. Besides, Alice did say that you wanted to go with someone so you weren't alone. Would you rather go with Jacob?"

The memory of Jacob's request to be my date flooded my thoughts and my cheeks turned red in embarrassment at being ambushed by him. There was no way I would go with Jacob, especially knowing how he felt about me. It wasn't like it would hurt me to go with Edward; after all, he thought of it as only a favor to a friend.

"Sure, why not go to prom with you?" I asked him casually. "Just make sure you come early enough to talk to Charlie. He's not going to like the idea of you taking me to prom considering the incident with Alice."

Edward smiled at me as he stated, "I will be there as early as you want me to be."


	15. Prom

A couple of days before prom Charlie asked me at dinner, "So, Bells, what are your plans for the weekend, you know, since you're not going to prom."

"Actually, I am going to prom," I mumbled sheepishly. My cheeks inflamed in embarrassment. Since Jacob had asked me to prom I had gone over only once a week, and every time Jacob tried to bring up the topic I would quickly change it.

Charlie gave me this incredulous look, his fork dangling limply in his hands. He let his fork clatter to his plate before he sat up straight. "Were you planning on telling me?"

"I don't know," I answered him honestly. Sure, I had told Edward to arrive early, but I also figured that perhaps Charlie might be out fishing that night and all I would have to do was leave a message for him stating that I was at the Cullen's house. "Please don't tell Jacob. He's going to be upset when he finds out," I pleaded with Charlie.

He took a gulp of his drink before commenting, "So who is the boy you turned Jacob down for?" I could tell from his tone of voice that he was disappointed. It wasn't a secret that he and Billy hoped their children would some day marry.

I pushed my plate away from me now feeling queasy. "Actually, I wasn't planning on going when Jacob asked me, but I was convinced by a friend that this is my last chance. We're just going as friends, that's all."

"Who is this 'we'?"

"Edward Cullen." I winced as I said his name not out of dread for agreeing but because I was afraid to see how Charlie would react to the news.

"No," he answered before taking another gulp. "There is no way you are going on a date with that Cullen boy. I already don't like the idea of you spending time over there so much, but I sure as hell will not allow you to date one of their boys." Charlie wasn't normally so authoritative with me, but on this issue he clearly was standing his ground.

"We're not dating. We're just friends. Besides, I'm not Alice. I wouldn't just run off with some guy, especially since I know how hard it was seeing Alice do something that stupid." I found myself screaming at him in desperation. Why should I care so much? It wasn't like I was all too thrilled about going with Edward, or so I kept telling myself. "We're just going to the prom and then he's bringing me home right afterward. He even wants to meet with you before."

"Absolutely not. I don't trust those Cullen boys."

"Edward is not like Jasper. Edward has more of a mind of his own than Jasper does, so even if I were stupid enough to suggest running off with him, he wouldn't allow it."

"Are you saying that Alice is the one at fault?"

"Let's think about this: Alice always was more persuasive when it came to getting what she wanted. So, yes, I do believe it was all her idea." It was her idea, especially to move the date up.

Charlie growled for a second before telling me, "I'll think about it." And that was the end of that discussion. We didn't say one word about it again until the day of prom.

The Saturday of prom I went over to Edward's house so that Esme could do my hair and make-up. As she sat down to arrange my hair, she stated, "Alice begged me to take pictures of your hair and make-up for her photo albums. She would love to be here." Her voice trailed off slightly.

"I know. If I didn't smell so much more...tempting than a normal human, then she could have come back to Forks months ago." I could completely understand Alice's hesitation because if I were put in the same position I too would stay away. She still needed to gain more control before putting her twin sister into harm.

Esme smiled at me and then changed the subject to something more pleasant. I had suspected that Rosalie was up to something when she bought herself a prom dress when she's supposed to be in college, but I didn't say anything. Edward had told me before that she and Emmett had numerous large wedding ceremonies while most vampire mates had only one. But Esme confirmed that Rosalie was planning on having her own private prom in their little cottage out in the middle of the woods.

As Esme took my pictures, I spied Emmett walking around in his tuxedo. It obviously had to be custom made in order to find something that would fit his massive muscles. "Don't you look pretty today," Emmett commented in hopes of seeing me get flustered, and I didn't disappoint him. "It's a good thing Edward is out hunting now or you'll throw off the surprise."

"I highly doubt Edward cares what I look like," I grumbled, to which Emmett shot up an eyebrow in response. Turning the conversation in another direction, I commented to him, "So, getting all dressed for your own prom? She really does have you wrapped around her finger."

He smiled so wide that I could see his white teeth glistening. "I'd do anything for her, including going through another fake prom or another wedding ceremony. You women don't know how much power you have over us, especially when something else is on the line." When I blanched he laughed at me, but I couldn't help it. "But honestly, a private prom is way better than the actual thing."

"Why would you say that? At least it makes sense to go to prom with other people instead of having your own private one. Why not just call it a romantic night in?"

"You have to think about it from the standpoint of a vampire. Being packed into a room full of humans trying not to drain them or even touch them does not make the night comfortable."

"Jasper must have really loved Alice if he was willing to go with her," I mused aloud. As the Cullen with the most self-control struggle, last year's prom must have been difficult except that at least Alice was there to distract him.

Emmett's booming laugh brought me out of my thoughts. "Jasper is so in love with her he would run away with her the second she suggested it. He'll stay a vegetarian for the rest of his life just to make her happy. I don't doubt in any way that he's in love with her." He let out another laugh before saying, "But he's not the only one in this house willing to go to prom for a woman he loves."

I assumed that he was referring to himself, which seemed somewhat strange. But, then again, this was Emmett, and he'd do just about anything for a joke. "I know, you're so whipped Emmett," I joked with him, but he didn't laugh with me.

"That's not..." My heart started to clench within my chest with those two words.

"Bella," Esme's voice interrupted him before he could say anything more. She walked into the living room where we were talking and said, "Edward's home, and if you want him to be wowed, you need to get home soon."

"I probably should anyway in case Charlie decides to change his mind," I told her as I walked out the front door.

On the way home I kept wondering why I should have been suddenly so anxious at the last few words Emmett was about to say. Did I want him to tell me that he was not referring to himself, that he was referring to Edward? Would Edward seriously like me enough to go with me, as tempting as I was, to a place where he would be continually surrounded by their thoughts and the scents of their blood?

I shook the thoughts from my head. He was expected to go with me. Alice had obviously thought this was the best idea since she was convinced that I was in love with Edward, and she must have gotten most of the family to pressure him into taking me. He was probably going to be miserable tonight, not just because the scent of so much human blood packed into a room, but also because he had to spend it with me.

The self-hatred bubbling to the surface wanted to spill over into tears, but I wouldn't let them. The last thing I needed to do was to show any vulnerability in front of Edward. It probably wouldn't help that I'd probably smudge the mascara Esme put on me. And I laughed at myself for suddenly becoming very girlie.

Shortly after I had gotten dressed, I heard Charlie come home, early. "Bells, are you still here?" he called as he entered the door.

"Yeah," I yelled from the top of the steps.

"I'm home for the night. I hope you didn't already eat dinner."

"I'm not eating dinner here," I reminded him.

Before he could ask any questions, there was a knock on the door. I watched from the top of the staircase as he walked to the door and then heard him growl out, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Bella, Chief Swan," Edward's velvety voice filled the house. "Is she ready?"

"She's not going with you," Charlie informed him.

I wasn't about to let him ruin my evening, so I came down the stairs and said, "Dad, you promised that you would think about it, and it's too late for me to turn him down." Edward looked around Charlie at me and smiled causing me to smile in return at him. "Hi, Edward," I said breathlessly. Mentally I wanted to slap myself for sounding like a lovelorn teenager, especially since I had been trying to convince Charlie that we were going as friends and not significant others.

"I promise that I will have Bella home no longer than eleven o'clock, sir," Edward said sincerely.

Charlie shifted his weight from one foot to the other before answering, "Like that brother of yours did?"

"I don't agree with my brother's decision either, Chief Swan, and I entirely understand if you wouldn't trust any man wanting to date Bella after that incident. But I can assure you that I would do nothing so disgraceful and dishonest."

Charlie seemed to have weighed the decision in his mind for a good couple of minutes before he answered, "Fine, but you have to have her back by ten o'clock and no later or I'll have the entire county out looking for you."

"Thank you, Dad," I said before giving him a peck on the cheek and then rushing out the door with Edward.

We were halfway to the car when I tripped on absolutely nothing. As I was pitching forward, Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and held me upright. My heartbeat raced as I realized how close I was to him and how strangely comforting it felt to be in his arms.

Edward gently pushed me away from him but kept his hands on my shoulders until he was sure I could stand on my own. I noticed him glance over my shoulder with a scowl marring his face, so I turned around to find Charlie standing in the doorway looking as if he was ready to march up to us and drag me back into the house. I smiled at Charlie as if to reassure him, but the corners of his lips twitched further downward.

When we were safely in the car I asked Edward, "Is Charlie thinking of pulling his gun on you at this moment?"

"Something like that," Edward answered back. "Normally Charlie's thoughts are rather quiet, but I can definitely hear him screaming at me this moment. I don't blame him though, considering it was my brother that you sister ran off with."

"I'm not Alice," I reminded him.

"But you're still his little girl." He placed his right hand on my left and assured me, "But he let you go, so you might as well enjoy yourself. This is one of the most important moments in your human life."

"There will be more proms when I'm changed. How many times have you been to prom?"

Now Edward's patience with me was faltering. "Bella, how many times do I have to tell you that I won't change you. Why can't you leave it at that?"

"Because you don't know what's best for me," I countered him before yanking my hand away from his.

He slowly placed his hand back on the steering wheel. "I'm much older than you and know what it's like to live this life. Trust me when I say that I do know what's better for you." There was an odd silence that fell over us as he pulled into the school's parking lot. "Since we're here, can we enjoy our evenings and agree not to discuss this any longer?" The way he said it left no room for me to continue arguing with him.

When we walked in we found nearly everyone was there already. Angela waved me over to their table, so Edward followed me over to where they were standing. To say that everyone was shocked at the sight of my date was an understatement. He did look gorgeous standing there in his black tux, and immediately after that thought crossed my mind I removed it. I refused to believe Alice's prediction that I was falling in love with Edward. At the very least, a crush would lead to heartache that I didn't want to experience.

Jessica took me aside for a second with Angela and Lauren both following her. "Is Edward Cullen seriously your date for tonight?" she demanded to know.

"Yes, but we're not dating," I added. The last thing I needed was Edward getting angry at me for a rumor.

Lauren raised her eyebrows and snidely asked me, "Why would he want to go to prom with you? Did you have to blackmail him or something?"

Thankfully Edward stepped in and rescued me from them. "Bella, it would be best if we took our pictures now while the line is shorter," Edward suggested offering me his hand.

I placed my hand in his and noticed the strange shock of electricity that flowed through our skin. It was like this every time Edward and I touched, but tonight it was stronger.

He led me towards the line for pictures before I realized what we were doing. "Why are we getting pictures?" I whined. If he were human I would have pulled him back towards the table.

"Alice wants pictures." He didn't need to say it because I already knew that this was probably just as hard on Alice as it was on me. If my blood didn't call out so much to vampires, she would be here with me.

Edward took my hand in one of his cold hands and lead me towards the backdrop. As I watched him, I realized that maybe I should be relieved that Alice wasn't there. While I wanted to share this with her, I didn't think I could have handled her teasing about Edward and my feelings for him. Honestly, I didn't know what I felt for Edward. We were friends, but was I imaging more feelings for him because of what Alice said or because I really felt them?

More shocks of electricity flowed through my veins as Edward put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. His smell was intoxicating, and I wanted to lean in closer to get a better sniff but thought better of it since we were being watched by nearly everyone in that portion of the gym. As I gazed up at him, I saw him gazing back at me with a crooked grin that reached his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

I was unaware that the picture had been snapped until Edward leaned down and whispered into my ear, "I think they want us to move so that others can get their pictures taken." I turned red in embarrassment as I noticed the next couple anxiously waiting for our escape. Edward just chuckled as he guided me away by placing his hand gently on my lower back.

We sat at the end of the table at dinner and listened to their conversations, mostly about their plans for the next day and the last month left of school. I could tell Edward was not interested in the conversation, and, thankfully for him, they didn't include him. Throughout dinner I watched him carefully as he tried to sneak food onto my plate to look as if he was eating, and I had to hold back giggles every time I noticed a new piece of food. I wasn't sure how everyone else didn't notice that the amount of food on my plate stayed the same despite my eating, but, then again, I didn't think they were paying much attention to me.

The dance portion of the evening was held in the gym. Edward and I sat down, both of us opting not to partake in the faster dances. When the first slow song came on, Edward stood up and offered his hand to me. When I didn't take his hand, he asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"

"I don't dance," I said blowing him off.

"Nonsense, it's all in the leading." And for some reason I couldn't argue with him.

As he held me close to him, I couldn't help but cherish the sudden sense of security I felt being in his arms. My heart was screaming at me to rest my head on his shoulder, but my mind was telling me that I would be too forward. So I settled for closing my eyes and letting him guide me across the gym floor.

Another slow song started after that one ended, and I opened my eyes wondering if Edward would stop dancing. Instead, he continued moving while staring at something in the distance. While I watched him stare at everyone else, my heart became heavy. He was probably trying his hardest to maintain self-control.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

His head whipped down to look me in the face, but I refused to lock eyes with him. "What are you sorry for?"

"For making you come and spend a whole night having to concentrate on your self-control and keeping out of everyone's thoughts."

His marble fingers pushed my face up towards his before he told me, "I asked you to come, so I knew what I was getting into. Besides, I wanted to take you."

"Just so you could get Alice to stop harassing you, and probably Emmett also," I grumbled. "I know what Alice is like, and I know that she had to put you up to it."

"She did ask," he admitted. "But if I didn't want to, then I would have ignored her. She's thousands of miles away, and a few phone calls every once in awhile couldn't scare anyone."

I couldn't help but giggle at his comment. He obviously didn't know how much of a nag Alice could be when she was on a mission to get her way. What he saw when she negotiated spending time with Jasper again was nothing compared to when Alice decided that she didn't like Renee's boyfriends.

"I can't seem to stay away from you," he admitted to me. I immediately looked him in the eyes and was shocked to see the sincerity within their depths.

I could hear Emmett's words from earlier in the day, and I prayed then that Emmett had really been referring to Edward when he made the remark about vampire men going to proms for the ones they love. Did I want Edward to love me? Did that mean that I loved him back?

Edward leaned closer to me, and I naturally closed my eyes and let my mouth often slightly. At that moment everything around me disappeared, like the thoughts in my head, and all I could sense was Edward's very presence. His sweet breath blew across my lips, and I prayed that he would grace me with my first kiss.

Suddenly I felt him jerk back from me, but his arms didn't move. When I opened my eyes, I saw him staring off at something to his right. "It's good that you chose to go to college in Arizona."

My mind was a whirlwind of thought. Had I just imagined his last sentence and the kiss we almost shared? Or was he glad to be getting rid of me instead?

"I'm not going to college in Arizona. I'm going to stay in Washington so that I can be here when Alice comes back."

"She's not coming back when you're here," he snapped at me. His previously gold eyes became coal black. "We're moving on anyway. We can't stay here if there's a chance that someone can recognize her. That's not fair to Charlie."

"And it's not fair to me that you're going to take away what time I have left with her, especially since you refuse to change me," I snapped back at him.

He insisted, "This is for your own good!"

"I'm so sick and tired of hearing that."

"Then stop being so stubborn and you won't have to hear it again."

The couples around us, who couldn't hear what we were saying, clearly could tell that we were arguing. I broke away from Edward without any resistance and stormed towards the doors. Edward waited to follow me because I didn't need to tell him where I was headed.

He didn't open the door for me like he usually did, and he didn't walk me to the door like a gentleman did. I was rather relieved to see him peal out of the driveway and down the street.

The door slammed behind me as I entered the house. "Bells, are you back already?" Charlie's concerned voice asked me from his recliner in the living room.

"Yeah. I'm home early." Within a few steps I was standing in the doorway to the living room noticing the relieved look upon his face. "And you were right."

"About what?"

"I should stay away from the Cullen boys."

Charlie smiled at me before he bid me good night.

–

A/N: So my best friend, who happens to be my beta reader, is finally out of her writer's block, and she flattered me by asking if she could write Alice's side of this story. So I gave her permission, and I'm beta reading for that story. It doesn't have a title yet, but her name is klutz82. And yes, I do know that it does sound better, but she does have a bachelor's degree in creative writing and I almost have a masters degree in political science.

Oh, and I'm leaving in a week for a week long vacation, so I will apologize in advance if I don't get the next chapter out for a few weeks.


	16. The Truth Comes Out

I had trouble sleeping that night. My mind continuously replayed the night over. I was so sure that he said he couldn't stay away from me, and I was very sure that I thought he was going to kiss me. He had been so close I could feel him breathing on me. Yet nothing happened, and he behaved like he didn't think much of me. He also said he was glad that I was leaving the state. If he cared about me, he'd want me to stay.

But it was my reaction to him that seemed to bother me the most now. At the start of the night, I knew I was anxious. Then I got lost in his eyes the moment they took our photo and while we were dancing. But it was the breaking of my heart after he brushed me off so easily tonight that caused me to admit to myself my true feelings for Edward.

I was developing romantic feelings for Edward. That alone was hard to take, especially knowing that he didn't reciprocate them.

That morning when I came downstairs for breakfast, Charlie informed me that Billy had called to say Jacob was sick. It wasn't like I was going to visit him today after going with Edward to prom the night before. But, then again, I did need someone to bash Edward with.

Charlie still planned on going fishing with Billy and Harry, so I waited patiently by the phone for Charlie's cruiser to get down the street. Alice knew I was sitting there, so the phone rang within seconds. "Bella, I'm so sorry," she started.

"If you knew he didn't like me, why did you push me so hard to recognize my feelings for him?"

She was excited as she asked me, "So you finally admit that you love Edward?"

"I like Edward, although not anymore." There was no reason to explain why, she had seen it all happen.

"Look, there were last minute decisions made that changed the whole course of your evening. He was going to kiss you, but he changed his mind last minute."

"He changed is mind. In other words he let the moment get to him, and he realized that he was about to give me the wrong impression."

"I know he likes you," she insisted. "I could tell he liked you when he saved you from Tyler's van. He looked like he was doing it to keep you safe, not because he was afraid of what he might do if your blood was spilled. There is this tender look in his eyes when he looks at you."

I was growing more angry as I listened to her. "Stop it now! Edward clearly doesn't like me. He only asked me to prom because you pressured him into it, and you even put him up to lying about it."

And then I did the unforgivable: I hung up on her. After several months of a strained relationship, months in which I hadn't been able to talk to her, and months of only being able to talk on the phone, and how did I treat my sister? I blew her off, but at the time I was enraged at her lies.

She didn't call me back, nor did she call me for a week. That week I also did my best to avoid Edward. If Jacob hadn't been sick for the entire week, I think Charlie would have pushed me into spending time with Jacob instead of moping around at home.

It was Jacob who came to see me a week after the prom. He was alone since Billy was fishing with Charlie on the reservation. He didn't look too happy to see me, and I'm sure my face mirrored his emotions. He stepped into the kitchen and watched my every move. After not talking to each other for a good minute, I finally spoke, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Do you have any soda?" I opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a can and set it on the table. He sat down and opened the can, but his eyes never left my figure. We were silent again for another stretch of time before he finally asked me, "Why didn't you go to the prom with me?"

Of course he would ask that question! As if I didn't have enough to deal with, I had to deal with his rejection. "I don't feel that way about you, Jacob."

"You could have told me that sooner."

"I never led you to believe I ever had feelings for you," I argued back. "Name one incident where I overstepped the boundaries." He remained completely silent and his eyes finally moved from mine only to search around the kitchen as if the answer was hiding in the cabinets. I huffed, "Exactly my point, but if I had gone with you to prom, even as a friend, then you would still be under the wrong impression about us. Jacob, I don't feel that way about you, and I'm glad that I don't. When you imprint, you'll find someone who will make you ten times happier than I ever could."

"I don't care about my imprint," he started to say, but I interrupted him.

"That's what you say now, but look at what happened to Leah and Sam. They loved each other, but Sam couldn't deny that Emily was rightfully the one who should be his wife. You would be the same way, and I would be the one hurt, like Leah. But thankfully we don't have to worry about that since my feelings aren't on the line."

He was silent, and he now looked down at the floor as if studying it in great depth. When he did speak, it was quiet. "If you really wanted to go to prom, you could have still asked me as long as you explained this to me before."

"I didn't want to go to prom," I informed him angrily. "Alice kind of corralled me into going."

"Alice is somewhere in Canada. How could she have forced you?" he asked with anger in his voice as his head snapped up to look up at me. I could feel his eyes burning into me.

I swallowed a lump in my throat before answering him, "Esme showed up and insisted on buying me a dress, and Edward insisted that I go and he would go with me so I didn't go alone."

"You didn't have to agree to go with him."

"I know," I mumbled.

There was another several seconds of silence before he accused me, "You wanted to go with Edward?" I'm sure my inability to look at him and my silence told him all he needed to know. He stood up so fast he knocked his chair to the ground with a loud bang. "You're in love with that leech!" he yelled at me.

"I wouldn't say love." I tried to remain calm, but every nerve in my body was on edge. Something was very wrong about this situation, but my mind hadn't grasped it yet. "Like definitely, but not love." Then I was quick to follow up with, "But he clearly made his feelings towards me known."

"And what are those?"

"He doesn't like me, at least not in that way. After graduation he's washing his hands of me because I'll no longer be a threat to their stability here in Forks. They're leaving Forks."

"Good! The less of them around here the better!"

I grew angry at listening him insult them. Sure, there were bad vampires out there, but the Cullen's were the good kinds. They were all kind, except for Rosalie, and they wanted to just live amongst us, not make a meal of us. I shouted back at Jacob, "How dare you say that! My sister is one of them, and if I had it my way, I'd be one of them by now too!"

Jacob took a step towards me, and my mind finally snapped. All of the adrenaline in my body pushed me out of the house and into the woods behind the house. Jacob was closing in on me quickly, and I'm sure he could have overtaken me at any time. When we were completely out of view from the rest of the neighborhood, he finally did overpower me by tackling me.

His hands wrapped around my upper arms as he held me down to the ground. "Why in the hell would you want to be one of them? Your own sister can't even be around you because she's just as much of a monster as the rest of them!"

"If she were a monster, she would have come home and drained my life from me! But she didn't because she's not a monster, and neither are they! And I'm not going to continue living a life where I can't be around her because of what I am. I want to spend the rest of my life with Alice and Jasper and the rest of the Cullen family, including Edward." I tried to thrash around, but he squeezed me tighter causing severe pain to render my arms useless. It was then that I noticed how much Jacob's hands were shaking.

From the distance, I heard the most heavenly sound in the world as Edward yelled at Jacob, "Let go of her! You're hurting her."

I looked in the direction of Edward's voice and saw Emmett standing behind him ready to pounce on Jacob if necessary. Closing the distance between Edward and I were four large wolves. One of the wolves growled at Jacob, but he only growled back at the wolf as if challenging it. The largest wolf, the one as black as night, growled and snapped at him, but Jacob's grip only grew tighter causing me to cry out in pain.

Emmett was standing over Jacob within the blink of an eye, but Jacob had let me go suddenly before Emmett could even lay a hand on him. The wolves pushed Jacob backwards and tried to drag him away with them. "I'm not going to let you change her," Jacob belted angrily at Edward.

"I refuse to change Bella, so you don't need to focus your energy on me. Bella's better off a human and away from us."

"Then we're in agreement?" Jacob yelled back at him. Edward just nodded his head. Having gotten the answer he wanted, Jacob bolted further into the woods with the wolves at his heels.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked me as he pulled me onto my feet. "If you think you need medical attention, we can take you to Carlisle. He's at home right now."

"No, I'm fine," I assured him with a smile. Just knowing that Emmett had been there to rescue me was enough for now. I didn't even want to remember how cold Edward was to me.

He wouldn't let me forget though. "What were you thinking? Jacob could have killed you?" Edward demanded to know. "I told you to stay away from him when he changed."

"He changed?" I asked with eyes wide open. Yes, I had noticed that he was much warmer, like the rest of his pack brothers who had changed, but I had assumed it was a fever. He never actually came out and told me or changed in front of me.

Emmett informed me, "He's definitely a werewolf now. We could smell him a mile away."

"I didn't know. I've barely seen him in the past month, and we haven't actually talked to each other in a week because he's been sick."

"Werewolves don't get sick. He probably was dealing with his transformation during that time." I just nodded along because it made some sense.

Edward was still there and still very angry. "That doesn't excuse the fact that you started a fight with him about becoming a vampire. And couldn't you come up with a better excuse for why you couldn't go with him to prom than a bogus story about how you love me?"

I hated his ability to read minds at that moment, and, had he not thought it was a lie at that moment, I would have been thoroughly embarrassed. But, unfortunately, that now left me in an uncompromising position. Did I make myself look like a liar and protect myself, or did I tell him the truth.

He didn't give me the chance. "I could never love you, and Alice needs to understand that. I only went to prom with you because I thought it was the right thing to do, just like I think making sure you stay human is the right thing to do."

Emmett called out Edward's name, but Edward refused to let him speak. They seemed to have a conversation that was not meant for me to hear because Emmett spoke without a voice and Edward's was so fast that I could not comprehend what he was saying. When it was over, Emmett stomped away unhappily before running at full speed in the opposite direction the wolves left.

"I'll take you home, but after that I think it would be best if we didn't spend any more time together."

I was so angry at him I said the most horrible thing I could think of at the moment, "Why would I want to spend any more time with you?" I instantly regretted it because I thought I saw hurt in his eyes, but he moved so quickly to get me home I wasn't sure I had properly seen his eyes after I made that statement.

When I got inside the house, the phone rang. "Don't listen to a word he has to say," Alice said as a greeting. "He's just saying it to make you leave because he's afraid of hurting you."

"He doesn't care about me, and I need to get over him. Now, can we talk about more important things?" I begged her.

"But Bella..."

"No. No more talk about Edward from now on. Edward doesn't exist. And in less than a month I'll never see him again."

"You're going to become a vampire, Bella. I promise that I will change you."

"How? You can't even be around me because you fear killing me. How are you going to change me without killing me."

"It may be some years from now, but I promise that I'll figure out a way. Just trust me."

"Fine, but until then, no more talk about Edward or my changing. I just need to survive the rest of the school year and then I'll be in Florida with Mom and Phil."

"I wish I could go," Alice said wistfully. Then her mood suddenly changed, "But then again, I don't think I could give up Jasper." I could hear the smile in her voice and then the sound of them kissing by the receiver. I should have figured he'd be there to cheer her up. "Okay, no more talk of Edward, I promise."

And she held true to her promise. I didn't speak to Edward or even glance at him for the next three weeks. It wasn't easy, and my heart was broken. Jacob was no help since he was still mad at me. That left only Alice to talk to, and that was only on the phone on the weekends. I never thought I would be so happy to spend an entire summer with my newlywed mother without Alice.

Then in August I moved back into her house in Phoenix, which she refused to sell, and I started my freshman year of college at Arizona State University.

–

A/N: As I said in the last chapter's author's note, I will be going out of state for a week long vacation, and since I don't have a laptop, I will not be writing anything during that time. Also, klutz82's story from Alice's point of view is titled "Testing the Bonds".

Oh, and since I have done this for awhile, thank you to everyone reading the story! I'm overwhelmed by the responses I'm getting.


	17. Reunited with a Plan

Since I was living alone, Alice was able to call at any time she wanted to. A week into the semester she told me, "Jasper and I are moving back in with the Cullen's. They moved from Forks."

"I know," I informed her. "Edward told me that they would so that Charlie wouldn't be able to accidentally run into you."

"Right. Well, I guess they moved in with the family of vampires that used to live in Denali in a more remote part of Alaska. There are so few people in the area that they won't have to worry about anyone asking questions. Plus, it's right by a large national forest."

"It sounds nice," I said with mixed emotions. While I hated the cold and wetness of the region, I missed being with family members you could be close to. Alice would have a family to keep her company, and I guess I irrationally worried that she'd forget all about me.

"So I may not call you tomorrow, but I promise that I will call you the day after that."

I sighed and tried to make it sound like I didn't like the idea. "Fine, I guess. If you want to forget me." She giggled at my rather poor attempt at drama. "No, really, it's fine. I've got plenty to do to keep me busy. Just don't forget about me."

"You know that's impossible right?" she joked with me. And then she suddenly got serious when she said, "It's going to be hard to hold my tongue around Edward though."

"Try at least, if not for the sake of everyone living there, do it for me."

"You still love him, don't you?" she asked sympathetically.

I brushed her off, "I just want to be civil; to show him I'm better than him."

"Sure," she said sarcastically. "Okay, I'll behave." I could tell she said that begrudgingly.

After we had hung up, I felt my heart tearing again. I had spent the last four months trying to forget Edward, but something wouldn't allow me. It was like he was forever ingrained into my life. But I knew that in order for me to move on and create a life, albeit a human life, for myself, I would need to get over Edward. There were better men out there in the sea; I just didn't know how to look for them.

After a couple of hours of trying to read for class, I found that I had not retained anything. My mind was still too conflicted with emotion that I decided it was worthless to continue. Instead I opted to go to bed early. The only problem was, even my dreams were plagued with Edward. He would stand there mocking me for developing feelings for him, and when I cried, he derived some sick pleasure from the sight.

But at some point in the dream it got cold, and I felt myself being weighed down. Edward's attitude suddenly changed from sadistic to worried. He held me in his arms, and whispered caring words in my ear. After several minutes I felt myself calm down and I drifted then into a dreamless sleep.

It was strange, but I was sure when I woke up that I caught Edward's scent in the pillow on the other side of the bed. I assumed it was my imagination running away with me, so I removed it from my mind entirely.

True to her word, Alice didn't call me that day, but she did call me the next evening. "So, are you settled in yet?" I asked her.

"We have our own room. Thankfully Esme insisted that Rosalie and Emmett have their own house away from the main house because those two are like rabbits." I could hear the disgust in her voice, and I couldn't help but laugh. "It's horrible because vampire hearing is so amazing, but it's good because Jasper feels..."

I had to interrupt her at that point, "Alice, please, I don't care to hear about that part of your married life."

"Sorry," she apologized with a giggle. "But anyway, I was calling to tell you something very important."

Her tone of voice was very serious, so I had to wonder what she might possibly be proposing. "Okay." I could feel myself sitting on the edge of my seat as if needing to spring forward at any moment.

"So Jasper and I decided to do something that may not go over so well with everyone in the family; however, that's not going to stop me. So in order for this to work, you will need to follow my instructions as closely as possible."

"Only if you tell me what the goal of this plan is," I said trying to bargain with her. There was no way I was going to do something involving Edward if it was just going to cause me heartache or even bring me face to face with him again.

"I can't tell you that, or my plan will be entirely thwarted. All I can tell you right now is that I will call you tomorrow morning with the first part of my plan."

"Whoa, I'm not agreeing to anything unless you tell me what exactly I'm doing this for."

She started yelling at me over the phone, "Why can't you just do what I say? Why do you have to be just as stubborn as Charlie?" That comment stung. "Just trust me because I am the one here with the ability to see the future. Now, I'm going to call you with your instructions for tomorrow at seven sharp. Can I trust that you will do everything I tell you to?"

"Yes," I reluctantly agreed.

"Good, then I'll be talking to you tomorrow," she said happily as if we hadn't just fought.

That night my mind ran away with all the possibilities that could come out of following Alice blindly. The last time I did something she insisted would be good for me, I ended up developing feelings I shouldn't have and getting my heart broken as a result. Not to mention the fact that her visions were subjective, and if someone changed their minds everything could change suddenly.

I didn't sleep well again that night, but it was more out of anxiety that something might go wrong tomorrow. Instead I watched infomercials all night due to lack of any type of quality programming. I finally fell asleep around three in the morning, only to be woken up at seven in the morning by the phone ringing.

"Yeah," I said while yawning.

"Get up and get dressed and ready for the day. Then you need to pack your clothes into a suitcase. Make sure you keep your cell phone on you when you leave the house. I'll call you back in an hour when you're ready to leave for class. Oh, and before you get off the phone, say 'Dad, I'll call you when I get there."

"Okay, Dad, I'll call you when I get there." I hung up the phone and hurried around the house getting ready and getting a suitcase packed with all of my clothes. It seemed a rather strange thing to do, but I did it anyway.

Right after I had gotten the suitcase in the trunk of my car, she called me again but on my cell phone. "Get everything you need for the day out of the house." I scurried back inside and grabbed my bag and my text books before shutting and locking the door behind me. "After you lock the door, write down two copies of the instructions I give you." She listed off the instructions to some place outside of the city and suburbs in the middle of the desert. "Then write at the top of one set of instructions, 'Place where I'm meeting Alice tonight at nine.' Then slip it under the door."

"Wait, I'm meeting you tonight?" I asked out loud, practically shouting it.

She hissed at me, "Yes. Now go do what I said."

I did what she said. It wasn't easy to get the paper under the weather stripping, but I finally accomplished my task. "Okay, that's done now. Could you please explain to me why I just put the directions under the door to my own house when I'm not going to be home? And why did I have to say out loud that I was going to meet Charlie?"

"In case anyone has bugged the house, but the directions are in case you go missing. They'll know where to find you, or at least your car."

"That's pretty morbid. Maybe we should postpone this if you think you're not going to be strong enough." The thought sickened me because I missed her so much, but I did have to think of my safety and her sanity.

She scoffed, "I'll be fine Bella. Just go along with things. Now, the next part of my plan is for you to meet me at that exact location by nine o'clock tonight. If you arrive a couple of minutes early, which you will, you cannot step one foot out of the car until nine on the dot. Okay?"

"Okay."

The rest of the day I was haunted by more thoughts about what this could all mean. I was finally going to meet Alice again, but it almost sounded as if she knew she was going to hurt me if she was having me leave notes in my house.

Speaking of that, why couldn't I have walked into the house and left it on the table? My best guess was that she wanted to make it look like someone was leaving a clue once they had kidnapped me as to where they might find me or their next set of instructions. That sounded ludicrous, especially considering the fact that I had packed up all of my clothes. And then it hit me, she wanted Renee and Phil to see the letter and know that I had run off with Alice! I guess she was covering her bases, making sure they knew that she wouldn't ever come back to them, and apparently neither was I.

After a stressful day of classes and my own thoughts, I drove out of the city and through the suburbs. When I reached the edge of the suburbs, it was nothing but open desert with very little in terms of civilization. I drove for awhile making sure I was calculating how many more miles I had to go before I was to stop and pull off the side of the road.

Thankfully for me, there was another car sitting on the side of the road. Not just any car, but a yellow 911 Porsche, Alice's dream car. I pulled over several feet down the road from her car, but enough to stay in the headlights. It was currently 8:56, so I turned off the engine and watched out of the side-view mirror for any movements.

At 8:59, both doors opened, and Alice stepped out of the driver's side. She stayed standing by the car, but Jasper's tall form moved towards my car at a slow human pace. He stood outside my door waiting with his eyes trained on the watch he wore on his left wrist. At nine o'clock he opened my car door, and I nearly fell getting out in the excitement of seeing what this was all about.

What I saw when I looked at Alice stunned me. "Bella, get back in the car and go home," Edward's velvety voice commanded me. It wasn't a harsh command; instead, it was filled with fear, concern. I was sure that if he could, he would have pushed me into the car and drove the car himself back into the city. Instead he was straining behind Alice's small form holding him back. Despite her small stature, her newborn strength would best Edward for as long as she could outmaneuver him.

Jasper stepped in front of me now effectively blocking my view of Edward. "Bella, just trust me and Jasper," Alice yelled over her shoulder.

I looked up at Jasper as he asked me, "Do you trust me?"

I don't remember saying anything, but I believe I nodded my head without really thinking about it. The sound of my shirt being ripped at the shoulder startled me, especially since it seemed rather inappropriate considering the fact that he was my brother-in-law. As I opened my mouth to say something, a blood curdling scream erupted from the pain.

My entire body became numb at first, but then it felt like flames were burning my insides starting at my shoulder. Turning my eyes, I saw Jasper's jaws attached firmly to my shoulder, and I could tell by the way I was growing woozy that he was sucking my blood from me.

Lazily my eyes rolled forward again towards Alice and Edward. I could have sworn I saw Alice throw up her hands as if in defeat, but the important thing was the fact that Edward was now loose and coming towards me.

The impact as he hurtled into Jasper and I caused me to fall to the ground. The pain worsened as I felt Jasper's teeth being ripped away with a chunk of skin still within his teeth. I could smell the metallic scent of my blood, but I expected Edward to finish me off now that he could smell it also.

Alice rushed forward and held Jasper back, but he wasn't struggling against her as hard as Edward previously had. She was saying something to him that seemed to be calming him down. He turned away and ran away from me, but Alice stayed close and watched over me.

I was aware that she and Edward were standing over me talking to me, but I was too far consumed in pain to hear a word they were saying. All I knew was that they both looked concerned. The flames were now reaching the furthest extremities of my body, and the sense of pain was so overwhelming I was having trouble even concentrating on seeing their faces. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I felt nothing but flames for what felt like a lifetime.

–

A/N: What an exciting chapter to write! I wrote it before vacation, but I thought it might be mean to leave you with a clifhanger for so long.

I am back from vacation now. Typing is not easy since I jammed one of my fingers when I fell hiking on a trail. Thankfully that was all, because if I had skidded any further, I might have fallen off a short cliff. Anyway, I have posted a copy of the pictures on my livejournal, so if you're interested in seeing them, I have posted the link on my profile.


	18. Burning

I could feel only a painful burning sensation; it was so strong it was if I was being burned at the stake. My body thrashed about occasionally, but it wouldn't relieve any of the pain. I prayed continuously that someone might kill me, but my prayers were not answered.

Then, suddenly, I could start to distinguish the sensations around me. Time was prevalent again, and every sensation of fire within me was distinct. But more importantly, I was well aware that I was no longer alone. Edward, Alice, Carlisle, and Jasper were all in the room with me. Tension was thick as Edward hissed at Alice, "Do you see what kind of pain you have put her through? Why couldn't you just leave her alone?" He was pacing across the room and would often run his hands through his hair. I thought it strange that I could hear all of that with such clarity.

"When this is all over, she'll no longer be in pain, and she'll be happy that we changed her," Alice countered.

"I could kill you for this," Edward hissed again. "And, Jasper, why don't you grow a backbone and stop her when she gets these crazy ideas in her head?"

The sound of someone standing up happened suddenly and there was a hiss. Then, just as quickly as it happened, Carlisle's voice spoke up. "Please calm down, all of you. There's not much time left until this is over, and she would not want to find you fighting." Then one person sat down while the other continued pacing.

It was quiet in the room except for the sound of their breathing. I listened harder for any other sounds in the house. The television was on downstairs and it was tuned to a Mariners game. There was also someone sitting downstairs flipping through a magazine nosily as if they wanted everyone to know they were not interested in what they were reading.

And the seconds dragged on until I felt the pain starting to subside from my extremities. Slowly it moved from my fingers and my toes, and a cooling sensation spread over them. But as the pain subsided it instead culminated within my chest. My heart was pounding so heavily that I thought it might go into cardiac arrest, and even my breath came out faster as it had trouble handling the excess of blood flowing through it.

My heartbeat stuttered. "We should get Emmett up here," Alice suggested before dancing out of the room in a hurry. Within seconds the sound of heavy footsteps following Alice's dancing ones came up the stairs. They were just in time to hear my heart beat for its last time. And, just like that, the fire within my bones concentrated itself solely within my parched throat.

My eyes opened for the first time in what felt like a thousand lifetimes. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. True, it was only a ceiling, but the grains of the plaster was in complete clarity to me now.

A hand touched my bare arm ever so softly, but it was much too soft to be that of anyone within the room. My mind sensed it as a threat, and within seconds I had rolled off the table and into a crouched position against the wall. The movement was so fluid I couldn't feel myself make it. It was as if I thought about it and, suddenly, it had happened.

My mind was scattering in ten thousand different directions at once. My eyes watched everything around me in perfect precision, from the grain of the wood to the shape of each dust mote, and I found I was easily distracted as I watched them float about the room. The sound of someone clearing their throat brought my attention back to the occupants of the room.

Carlisle and Alice were standing against the back wall of the room with Emmett and Jasper standing in front of them as a protective barrier. Seeing this put me further into a state of alert, and I tasted the atmosphere of the room with my enhanced senses as I tried to figure out what the threat was. But as I looked over at Alice, who was peeking out from behind Jasper with a large smile on her face, I realized Jasper was protecting her from me. Why would I be considered a threat?

This Alice was almost unrecognizable from the Alice I grew up with. The transformation had changed her face and her eyes to something I couldn't even recognize. Her only familiar traits seemed to be her hair, her height, and her smile.

I looked up at Jasper and flinched at what I saw. His lower jaw and neck were covered in scars in the shape of bite marks. There were even bite marks marring his face. As I stared at him, I felt myself become nervous at how dangerous he looked to me now, and I felt a wave of unnatural calm flow over me.

Slowly my eyes traveled around the room before landing on Edward, who stood away from the rest of them as still as a statue. My last memories of what happened before the fire ravaged my body were rather fuzzy, but I was sure he was the last thing I had seen before everything went black. How had he known that I was there? Wasn't he supposed to be in Alaska?

In an inhumanly fluid motion, I was standing again. "What happened to me?" I asked, but it was not my voice that I heard. It was an unfamiliar bell-like voice. I put my hand over my mouth and furrowed my eyebrows. Alice giggled while Jasper furrowed his eyebrows highlighting the scars above his eyes. "Why does my voice sound like this?"

"She's perfectly fine," Alice announced happily as she pushed past Jasper, who proceeded to follow her to hover over her. "Bella, you're a vampire now like the rest of us!"

My mind tried to grasp the reality of the situation while trying to remember everything that had happened to me. It was like everything in my human life had been seen through fuzzy lenses. What I could remember was Jasper biting me and Alice holding Edward back. "Jasper bit me," I remarked as my hand instinctively touched my shoulder where his teeth dug into my skin.

"Right. We planned it out perfectly so that Edward would stop Jasper from killing you but would be able to get enough venom into your system so that Edward couldn't suck it back out without killing you." As soon as Alice mentioned Edward's name, my eyes darted over towards him. His head was bowed, and he looked cross. He waited until Alice finished her statement before marching out of the room and then out of the house. "He's not very happy about being used like that, but it was necessary for your safety," Alice continued to explain.

I felt sorry for Edward. He had tried so hard to keep me human, and in the end he was used to help turn me into a vampire. "Will he be okay?" I asked no one in particular.

"Maybe we should focus on you hunting first," Carlisle suggested as he effectively changed the topic.

"Yes, we should take you hunting now," Alice explained as she gestured towards Jasper. "Jazz and I are going to take you for your first hunting trip."

Emmett also accompanied us on the trip claiming he might be needed for his strength in case I got out of hand. Honestly, I think he went just so he could laugh at how clumsy I was during my first kill. I even ripped my dress in the process. "Bella, I can't believe you already ripped your new, pretty dress," Alice whined while Emmett continued laughing like a hyena.

When Alice turned on him, Jasper explained to me, "Don't listen to Alice. She was not so graceful on her first few hunts either. She ruined plenty of clothes herself." I just smiled at him in thanks for his words. I was lucky to have him as a brother-in-law.

At one point Emmett tried to entice me to kill a bear, but I wasn't brave enough despite knowing I was stronger than the bear and completely unable to be killed by it. Still, I thought it funny that Emmett loved killing bears so much. I had to wonder if it was due to his size and the amount of blood he got from one of them, or if he perhaps was trying to outwit all the bears he came across since it was a bear that almost killed him. He wasn't taking revenge on bears, though, considering he thought his attack to be one of the few high points in his human life because it brought Rosalie into his life.

And, as I contemplated how happy Emmett was with Rosalie and Alice with Jasper, my broken heart began to bleed again. Edward was mad at me, and at Alice and Jasper, and I had to wonder if he'd always stay away from me.

If he left the Cullen family, what would the rest of the family think of me then? What did they think of me now? Were they upset with me, or Alice and Jasper for that matter, because of my transformation? I knew Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett were all too nice to say anything, but I was sure Rosalie would certainly tell me what they were thinking. And what of the Denali clan?

That reminded me that we were in Alaska and yet I had not seen any of the members of this other vegetarian clan of vampires. "Uh, guys, aren't there other vampires up here besides us? Why haven't I seen them yet?"

"I think they're waiting for you to finish hunting before they meet you," Jasper explained. "Do you think you could handle meeting them?"

"I don't see why not," I answered him.

Emmett suddenly got very serious on me as he stated, "There's something you need to know before you meet Tanya. She's normally a really nice person, but she may not like you." I raised an eyebrow in interest. "You see, she's always had a thing for Edward, and she knows how Edward's taking all of this."

"But don't worry about her. Edward's not interested in her like that," Alice jumped in. But that was the least of my worries. Edward had made it clear he hated me, so, if anything, he liked her more than me anyway. And, frankly, it seemed as if neither of us had the chance of receiving his love.

What I was worried about was if she would turn everyone else against us. She had been in their extended family longer than I had even been alive, so they'd all likely side with her...and Edward.

Jasper seemed to feel my spiraling depression and tried to calm me down by saying, "We said it's only a possibility. She may just only stay angry at Alice and me since you didn't have anything to do with why Edward is angry."

"What if she hates me and so does everyone else in the family?" I asked worriedly.

Emmett squared his shoulders and announced, "Then I'll take care of them."

"Besides, they're all going to love you because you are a good person," Alice said. "Don't worry; I know everything is going to work out."

"And no one bets against Alice," Emmett joked with a hearty laugh.

So I did my best to muster up what little courage I had and followed them back home. It turned out I didn't need to worry about meeting the other Denali coven members because they were all nice to me, except Tanya, who seemed a little frigid towards me. The Denali coven consisted of Eleazar and his mate Carmen, Irina and her mate Laurant, Kate and her mate Garrett, and Tanya.

It turned out that Eleazar's special ability was being able to detect the special abilities of other vampires. "This gift of yours is very unique," he said after the introductions were over. "It seems you have a defensive ability. Carlisle has told me that you are able to keep Edward from reading your mind, so I wonder if ability can block other abilities."

"Alice can still see my future, and Jasper can influence my emotions," I informed him.

He looked thoughtfully at me for a second before suggesting, "Kate has the ability to shock others. I wonder if it would affect you. Do you mind trying?"

Alice didn't seem to be upset over the idea, so I reluctantly agreed. "I promise I won't use much voltage," Kate promised me before she brought the electricity to her skin. I watched as it crawled along her skin like snakes. Tentatively she reached out and touched my skin, but I was unable to feel anything outside of the touch of her hand.

"Could you possibly bring the voltage up?" Eleazar asked. Kate just nodded her head and concentrated on sending more electricity at me, and, once again, I didn't feel it. "This is amazing!" Kate let the electricity snap back within her and smiled at me.

We talked for awhile about abilities, and Kate mentioned her ability to throw the electricity off her skin onto others, which got me thinking about possibly being able to do the same with my shield. "We could give it a try tomorrow if you'd like," she suggested.

Once we agreed to start my training the next day, we heard the sound of the front door open. Edward moved swiftly through the house and up the stairs to what I assumed was his room. Alice had told me he had never lived here since they moved, but they still needed to put his things somewhere. Not to mention the fact they hoped he would join them at some time. I supposed it didn't matter what he was doing that whole time. By the looks of it, he was most likely keeping an eye out on Alice since he knew exactly where she was when she met me outside of Phoenix.

I remembered the note that was left inside my house, and I wondered who found it. How were Renee and Charlie both dealing with my disappearance? Unfortunately, they had to be hurt by my transformation, but in the long run I would have Alice again. Well, Alice and Jasper, considering they were now an inseparable pair. If worse came to worse, I knew we could always leave the family together and journey out on our own. They would miss Jasper considering he had been a part of their family for decades, but the loss of Edward would most likely be harder on them since Edward was the first human Carlisle had changed into a vampire. And Rosalie certainly wouldn't miss me either.

The glare on Alice's face as she stared blankly ahead, almost as if through me, told me she was seeing a vision she didn't particularly like. Just as soon as she snapped back into reality, Edward flew down the stairs and out of the house in a huff. Alice opened her mouth to say something to me, but she was cut off by Tanya saying, "Bella, I guess I'm stuck babysitting you tonight."


	19. Babysitting Bella

"You don't need to babysit Bella," Alice immediately informed Tanya. "Jasper and I will take care of her."

"Nonsense. You two are still newlyweds and probably want quality alone time after spending the last three days sitting with Bella," Tanya passed off the offer as she grabbed onto my arm.

Alice grabbed onto the other arm and stated, "Bella is our responsibility, and even if she wasn't, I'd still rather babysit her than leave that for someone else. Besides, Jasper and I can catch up with Bella since I haven't seen her since I left Forks."

"Can we not call this babysitting?" I whined. "I'm not a child."

Tanya childishly stated, "Bella, I just want to have a conversation with you, but your sister won't allow it."

"I've already seen how this conversation is going to go," Alice informed us, but I wasn't sure if she was speaking more to me or to Tanya. "There is no way I'm going to leave you alone with Bella for a whole evening."

"Fine," Tanya pouted as she stormed off. Before reaching the door, she turned around and waited for the two of us to follow her. Like the good husband, Jasper joined us as we ran far enough away from the house to make sure no one else could hear us.

We stopped and headed into a cave to get out of the snow. It didn't bother me anymore since it was no longer cold and wet to me, but it was annoying having the snowflakes blowing into your face. The cave was shallow, but it was enough for all of us to fit into comfortably.

Tanya turned on me and in anger asked, "Why must you keep taunting Edward like you do?"

"Taunting him?" I asked swallowing the words.

"You know he's upset with the fact that you used him to become a vampire."

Alice stepped in this time, "That was not Bella's fault, and he knows that. He's angry at us and not Bella."

"Bella had a choice, and, despite Edward's words, she still allowed you to turn her."

"What words?" Alice asked, shaking her head. "He didn't say much. Plus, how can he be mad at her when she did get a choice that so many of you," she glanced at Jasper, "don't?"

Tanya threw her hands up in the air and screamed, "Don't you ever think about how this affected your family and friends? No wonder Edward was so vigilant in attempting to keep the both of you human! You never thought of anyone but yourselves!"

"By chance, have you thought that others might have wanted us to become vampires?" She held out her hand to Jasper, who took it with a sappy smile on his face.

Tanya looked at him with a mixture of emotions crossing her face. "Did you not contemplate the fact that if you changed Alice then Bella would also insist on being changed? Did you not care about Edward's feelings on the whole subject?"

"We talked extensively about it. Alice and I decided we would do what was best for us. And Alice had already known about Bella and Edward's future," Jasper explained to Tanya.

I finally spoke up for myself, "There is no future for me and Edward. I've told Alice before that Edward hates me, and I'm sure now that I no longer love him. How can I love someone who wanted to separate me from my sister? How can I love someone who was so awful to me when he knew about my feelings?"

Alice reached out for me, but I thwarted her advance. "Bella," she spoke softly. "I told you before that he only said that to make sure you left Forks."

"He meant it. If he cared about me, he wouldn't have said it that venomously."

Jasper said, "I know he does love you. I can feel that emotion radiating from him just at the mention of your name." He smiled down at Alice as they had a private moment of their own.

"If he loves me, he has a crappy way of showing it. And right now I believe what I see and not what the three of you _observe_, so please stop trying to convince me of what I know to be true. Furthermore, even if he does now or ever does in the future love me, it's too late for me to ever love him again. He's torn my heart out, and I refuse to be hurt again."

I took off running away from them needing solitude. My thoughts needed organizing, and I needed to convince my heart that I was over Edward. All those wounds that closed up were reopened in Phoenix, and they were raw now that he was back in my life. Every time I looked at him it was like being reminded I was never good enough for this life, and I was certainly never good enough for him.

Every action Edward had made since I awoke was only further proof of his hatred toward me. He was not just angry at Alice and Jasper like Alice tried to make it sound. Edward was clearly angry at me for agreeing to the change, for allowing Alice to use him. And he might just be angry at himself for not being able to convince either Alice or me to give up and remain human.

Alice tried to be silent as she came closer, but my vampire hearing picked her up, perhaps because I was expecting her to come. "I know you're here, Alice," I said gruffly. Maybe it wasn't as gruffly as I wished it would be considering how bell-like my voice sounded now.

"I guess I can't sneak up on you anymore," Alice teased as if trying to erase the memory of the conversation we just had in front of Tanya. We had insulted Tanya, who was supposedly very kind, although I hadn't seen it yet. Then again, she was defending Edward because she would always side with Edward. That only gave me more reason to believe that I would be asked to leave here and find another place or coven to stay with.

Alice sat down next to me and I could hear Jasper following her and sitting down behind us with his back against a tree. I felt sorry for Jasper the most. The poor guy's entire life had been turned upside down since we came into Forks. Sure, he had my sister now, and he seemed happier than when we first met him, but I knew it would be hard for him to leave his family even if it was to remain with Alice. He had to do this all because of me; I was the one to blame, not Alice. I barely even knew the guy and already I was ruining his life, just like I was ruining Edward's life.

I refused to look at her as I stated, "We cannot stay here much longer. We've already pissed off Edward and now Tanya…"

Before I could say anything more, Alice was on her knees in front of me and yelling, "Don't you dare believe anything Tanya has to say. She's just jealous of yours and Edward's…"

"Don't you dare say it!" I said interrupting her this time as I covered her mouth with my hand. Behind me I could hear Jasper move and hiss, but I released my hand before I gave him reason to fear me and my strength.

We all settled down again, but this time Alice sat cross-legged in front of me. "So, no, we're staying," she finally chirped after a couple of minutes.

"But what about Edward?"

"What about Edward? Yes, he already knew you were going to say you hate him…"

"I do hate him."

"Bella, you don't mean that." She looked around me at Jasper and asked him, "Does she, Jasper?"

I turned around and glared at Jasper, but I knew it would do no good. Jasper wouldn't lie to his wife. "She does, but her anger for him is clouding most of her feelings." I smiled because it was a victory for both Alice and I.

"Okay, but you still love him. And I bet if you knew the truth, you'd forgive him."

"I already know the truth."

"You only think you know the truth." She tapped her right temple with her index finger as she informed me, "But I've seen what he's done that you have failed to see, and I've seen what he planned to do when he had his guard down."

"Alice, can we stop talking about this?" I whined to her while giving her my best puppy dog face. I wasn't as good at making that face as Alice was, but from the way she gave in, I guess I had succeeded this time.

We were quiet for the next hour. About ten minutes into that hour, Alice had gone to sit in Jasper's lap, and they seemed content to just hold each other. Secretly, I wished that I could have someone to hold me, and Jasper must have felt it because he looked meaningfully at me for a second before turning his attention back to Alice.

After an hour, it finally dawned on me that there was a way for us to find out how Charlie was doing. "Alice, can you see how Charlie and Renee are handling things?" I asked her.

"It would be easier if the werewolves weren't hanging around all the time. You see, I can't see anything that happens when they're around. It's like a giant hole suddenly in the middle of a movie."

I was quiet for a few minutes as I tried to contemplate this knowledge. She had never mentioned anything like this before, but, then again, I hadn't spent much time with the werewolves thanks to Jacob's alarming feelings for me. I had never thought him capable of hurting me over his unreturned feelings…

And suddenly it hit me, "Alice, how did you know that Jacob was going to hurt me if you couldn't see him or me while I was with him?"

If she were still human, her face would have paled at that moment. "I didn't see anything from the time he came over until you ran away from him," she whispered. "And then…" She buried her face in Jasper's chest as if that could hide her from the memory.

But I knew what it was that she saw: my death. It was a good thing she called Edward when she did because Jacob would have been kicking himself for the rest of his life if he had accidentally harmed me, especially if he had fatally harmed me.

"We had actually called Emmett," Jasper explained. "Alice saw that if she had called Edward he would have said what he did say to you. Unfortunately, the plan backfired because at the last minute Edward decided to come home early only to hear Emmett's loud, angry thoughts and insisted on accompanying him. It was too late then for Alice's visions to change."

I wanted to put their minds at rest, so I said the first thing that came to mind, "The important thing is that they saved me. I wouldn't be here now if they hadn't." We went quiet again for another several minutes before I said, "Do you think we could call Jacob to find out how Charlie is doing?"

And just like that, Alice was on her feet and jumping up and down. "Bella, this is perfect! If you call Jacob we can find out what is going on. Because you know if I tried to call, he'd probably hang up." She suddenly grew somber and sat down as she stated, "We'll have to wait for morning because I'm sure Billy would hate to be woken up in the middle of the night."


	20. Like Old Times

When we got back to the house, we called Jacob's home phone. Alice couldn't see anything at Jacob's home, so she knew he had to be home. "Black residence," he answered the phone.

Alice and I were on speaker phone. "Hey, Jake," Alice squealed happily into the phone.

It sounded like he dropped the phone and a long period of silence passed before he asked, "Alice?" And then frantically he asked, "Is Bella with you?" I was hopeful that this meant he and the rest of the tribe knew what had happened to me.

"I'm here, Jake," I assured him.

He let out a sigh before stating, "When I heard that Bella went missing, I assumed that the vampires had finally gotten to you." He sounded angry and bitter. Considering our last encounter, it shouldn't have been a surprise that he was cross. It was obvious he wished to keep me human and all his own, but I had different plans, and he knew it.

"How's Charlie doing?" I asked changing the topic.

Instead of answering me, he lectured me, "Do you understand what you two have put him through? You left him completely alone and without any answers. How would you have liked it if he had done that to you? No, don't answer that. You two only thought of yourselves." I had to wonder when he suddenly grew up.

"Cut the chatter," Alice said firmly. It worked and he shut up. "We just wanted to know how Charlie's doing, and all you had to say was that he's torn up or something like that."

"Thankfully for the both of you, he's got my dad and Sue Clearwater to comfort him."

"Sue Clearwater, as in Seth and Leah Clearwater's mother?" I asked remembering the name. Harry Clearwater had been one of Charlie's good friends up until the heart attack he had after seeing Leah transform into a werewolf the first time. Charlie had been left out of the loop about the circumstances behind Harry's heart attack.

"Yeah, the same one."

"This is good. Maybe they can tell Charlie about vampires and werewolves," Alice suggested happily. "Then when he knows and Bella can hold in her cravings, we can come visit."

"Woah, no way. We're not telling Charlie about this. Too many people already know. Besides, none of the Cullens can ever step foot back in the area again. All of you have now twice broken the treaty."

"Jacob, please," I begged him. "We just want to see Charlie once and explain everything to him. We owe him that much."

"And what about your mother?"

"She has Phil. Not to mention the fact that we agree that Charlie would handle this better than Renee would."

There was a long pause of silence on the other end of the phone before we heard Jacob's muffled voice explaining to Billy everything he had discussed with us. Then, instead of Jacob answering us, Billy took the phone. "Girls?"

"Yes," Alice answered for both of us.

"Give me some time to explain things to Charlie. And then we'll discuss the prospect of you coming to visit him." I let out a breath even though I didn't need to. At least something was working out right now.

"Thanks, Billy," I said before wrapping up the call.

The entire household, minus Tanya and Edward, were waiting for us in the living room. I knew they heard our entire conversation. I was afraid they would be opposed to Charlie knowing, but Carlisle put my mind to rest by stating, "We wanted to let the both of you know that we are in support of letting you visit Charlie when you're ready to. I can't imagine how difficult it has been for him to lose both of his daughters, and, considering how he close he is to the werewolves, he deserves to know what's happening around him." For the second time today I let out a sigh of relief. At least something was going right in my life right now besides my reunion with Alice.

"Since everyone is here," Kate started. "I think now would be a good time to start training Bella on how to extend her shield onto others. Who wants to help?"

Rosalie made a face before announcing, "I don't care to get shocked today." She left with Emmett following behind reluctantly. He just shrugged his shoulders in apology before leaving.

Esme and Carlisle both apologized stating they had other tasks to work on, as did Carmen and Eleazer. Irina and Laurant asked if they could help out later when more people were needed, which left only Kate, Garrett, Alice, and Jasper.

Garrett volunteered first to be the test subject. "He seems to like being shocked," Kate teased him.

"I am a risk taker, and I wanted to see what you had," he replied back to her.

I must have had a confused look on my face because Kate gave a light laugh before explaining, "When Garrett decided to stay and try our way of life, my sisters told him about how I could shock him so hard that I could bring him to his knees. Being the dare devil he is, he insisted I bring him to his knees, and that's just what I did."

"And from that day I knew I had to make her my wife," Garrett said with such sentiment it made my dead heart ache for the same thing. Where was the man who was willing to be brought to his knees for me? Instead I fell in love with Edward, who would have nothing to do with me.

So Kate asked me to attempt to throw my shield onto Garrett, whom she shocked with a very low voltage. "Don't worry, it should just feel like a tingle to him," Kate promised when I stated how worried I would be about Garrett getting hurt. But, even after a couple of hours and no results, Garrett needed a break.

"Why don't you let me step in for a second," Alice suggested. "It might help if you were shocking someone Bella really cares about."

Jasper's cheeks puffed out for a second before he stepped up and authoritatively stated, "I'll be the next one. Alice, I won't allow you to help until Bella's more accomplished."

"Jasper, I don't care," Alice started to protest, but we could all see that Jasper would not back down. Under Alice's breath she muttered, "Overprotective fool," but it did nothing to deter Jasper.

Several hours later I had only managed to cover Jasper a few times with my shield for only seconds at a time before it snapped back onto me. And all I felt was defeat and the energy draining out of me. Still I persisted on trying again and again until I couldn't handle it anymore. "I don't feel so good," I said before I dropped to the floor.

"Bella!" Alice shouted in worry as she ran to my side.

The noise brought Carlisle and Esme downstairs in a hurry. "What happened?" Esme asked in concern for my well-being.

Jasper picked me up and laid me on the couch. My limbs were so tired I could barely move them. I felt so tired, but I knew I couldn't sleep anymore since I am a vampire. My mind was in a panic as everyone gathered around me. "She over exerted herself," Carlisle explained as he examined me. "Some rest will allow her to gain back her energy. Starting tomorrow, Bella shouldn't be training for so long." He had such an air of authority I knew I shouldn't argue with him, not that I could at that moment.

Alice insisted on moving me upstairs to her bedroom, and I laid down on the bed with her next to me. Jasper left us alone, Alice laid next to me like we used to do when we shared a bed in Charlie's house. I was not sure how long we laid there before Alice giggled, "Do you remember the time that Renee went through that prose phase and we had to all write poetry and share it with each other?"

I had to search back through my fuzzy human memories. Alice told me once over the phone that if you went through your human memories after changing the easier it was to remember them. Considering how fuzzy they were, I can easily image it would be easy to forget them if I didn't dwell over them.

"I think I remember your first written poem being something along the lines of how much you hated her idea," I said once I remembered that particular memory. "And Renee got so angry at you that she insisted you write another poem."

"And when I wrote another poem about the same thing she banned me from writing my own poems." She giggled again and held my hand. "That was one of the few times I didn't go along with her silly plans."

"I never told you this," I said in all seriousness. "But sometimes I wished I was more…carefree and spontaneous like you."

Alice turned towards me and said in all seriousness, "Renee and I always needed your practicality to keep us grounded. You kind of balanced us all out. Besides, I finally did learn to be more practical when I ran away with Jasper. I'm sure you don't believe me, but some day you will."

The most logical part of my mind wanted to doubt her. She believed so stubbornly that someday Edward and I would be together, but everything that had happened since prom promised we would never be what I had hoped for us to be. That was back when I was being stupid and spontaneous.

"You were spontaneous enough to trust me when I gave you those silly instructions in Phoenix, and we didn't give you time to think about turning into a vampire."

"I had already made that decision beforehand."

"True, but you probably didn't expect it right then and in that way." I didn't know how to respond to that, so we sat in silence for another several minutes before she spoke again, "Bella, you have to promise me that you'll be more spontaneous where Edward is concerned. The both of you are too stuck in your ways and for the rest of your lives you'll never give each other a chance. The least you two could do is learn to get along."

"It's not that easy. Edward…"

"You don't know exactly what Edward is going through. If you did, you'd stop insulting him," she snapped at me effectively silencing me. She seemed to almost instantly calm down as she explained, "If you two can't get along, Jasper and I will have to leave with you, and I can't ask Jasper to leave his family again. Besides, I've really gotten rather attached to them. You're my sister, and I don't want to have to choose between you and Jasper."

And the guilt seeped into me. All this time I had been thinking only of me and not of Alice and what this was doing to her. Granted, in some way, I felt like she owed me for leaving suddenly without any explanation and alone with our parents and their blame games. But then my more spontaneous side told me that if she hadn't suddenly run away she wouldn't be happy with Jasper, and I had to admit that she did know more about the future than I did.

"Fine, I'll try to get along with Edward," I conceded.

She nodded her head just once before laying on her back again. Another several minutes, again she giggled again before stating, "Oh, and I need you to promise me that from now on you'll dress better."

I gathered what little strength I had left and tossed my pillow on her face, to which she only giggled further. I couldn't help but smile knowing that if anything, at least I still had my sister back.


	21. Shields

Evening dawned upon us, and we once again decided to vacate the house to give all the couples their privacy. I kept insisting Alice and Jasper only help me out to a decent spot in the woods and leave me there to read. Just like the night before, she insisted someone stay with me just in case a hapless human crossed my path. "I like Bella-sitting," Alice joked with me, but I just replied with a hiss.

I was feeling well enough to walk, but I was still drained of energy. At least my talk with Alice left me feeling better even if my new body was letting me down. But then again, it was partially my fault for not stopping or taking a break when I knew I was draining energy quickly.

Alice figuratively hovered over me as we walked through the forests at sunset. She was like a mama bear trying to make sure I was okay and able to move. Thank goodness she was shorter me because she would have literally hovered over me if she hadn't been so short.

Jasper just chuckled lightly at Alice's hovering. I know it was pointless, but I kind of wondered what they would have been like had they had the chance to have children of their own. Of course, had Jasper not been a vampire, he would have likely fought longer in the war and died or eventually returned home to debt and scraped a living with a wife he wouldn't have loved as much as Alice.

I wonder if Alice ever thought of the what if's. It seemed more like something Jasper would do than Alice considering Alice's ability to live spontaneously. Not to mention she cared little for history, and Jasper was still obsessed with the Civil War, or so I assumed considering he had a whole library of Civil War books in their bedroom.

Up ahead I heard the sound of a pair of feet coming towards us. Considering their swiftness and how quiet they were, I assumed them to belong to a vampire. The wind blew carrying the familiar scent of Edward. As I glanced over at Alice, I saw a sneaky, knowing smile that gave me reason to believe he was coming for us; at least the smile also meant this would be a decent encounter.

I was very wrong about how it was going to turn out. The very moment Edward was in view, his face hardened in anger. To a human, they would not have seen the very subtle way in which Edward's jaw ticked, but my vampire eyes picked up all the details.

Actually, I hadn't have much of a chance to really look at Edward since I changed. He was so angry, and I was so confused when I first saw him. Then I saw him only for a few seconds as he ran through the living room the next day. But now I had time to take in all the details about Edward. I thought him handsome before, but everything about him now only amplified his beauty.

My mind watched his lips purse the first second he saw us and then moved into a deep frown. His eyebrows furrowed and then arched down as his eyes narrowed. And yet it was still incredibly handsome on his face.

"What did you do to her?" his voice boomed in anger as it wrapped around the trees in the forest. Even his voice was more beautiful with my vampire hearing.

His eyes moved from me to Alice and then Jasper in an accusing manner, but ultimately they landed on Alice as he waited for her response. Alice remained calm and didn't say anything, but I assumed she was likely running through her mind the events of that afternoon in the living room. Whatever he was seeing only served to make him angrier because his eyes then darted in accusation towards Jasper.

Jasper was not disturbed by Edward's accusing eyes. That didn't mean, though, that Jasper wasn't on edge. Edward's angered state, which Jasper could clearly feel, and Edward's dislike of Alice and possibly even me at this moment, left Jasper no choice but to be ready in case he might have to defend his wife or his sister-in-law from his adopted brother, lest he make his wife unhappy.

Edward turned his attention back to Alice and lightened his stance slightly. I felt completely left out of the loop. They were having a complete conversation without words, and I was the only one without any say at this moment. Just this once I hated the idea Edward couldn't read my mind because I was screaming at him to let me in on what he was hearing.

Sure, I would have said something aloud, but given my current working relationship with Edward, he'd have probably thought I was screaming at him for other reasons. He would have mistake my confusion for anger, and I had already promised Alice I would attempt to behave around Edward for her and Jasper's sakes.

And then, as if he was acknowledging a slight defeat, Edward's stance relaxed and he conceded, "I still don't like what limits you are willing to go to. I should take care of her tonight since you can't." There was an edge in his voice, but I didn't have much time to contemplate it.

Instead, my mind wanted to concentrate on the fact Edward volunteered to spend time with me. "Sure," Alice said almost too easily before turning to me, "I hope you don't mind us leaving you in Edward's capable hands."

"You two need time alone," I said automatically without much thought. It was true, and I knew that was part of Alice's easy acceptance of Edward's suggestion.

She didn't have time to respond when Edward swept me up in his arms. As I looked over Edward's shoulder at my sister, I saw her holding onto Jasper and smiling at him. She looked so happy as if everything in her world was falling into place.

Edward took us took us to a cave, and I leaned up against the wall while he sat in the middle with his back turned to me, staring at the entrance. At first I thought he was going to say something, but he never glanced in my direction or opened his mouth. I gave him a few minutes before I gave up and opened up my copy of Wuthering Heights.

Hours went by and I finished my book before I finally got tired of the silence. "Edward, if you don't want to be here, just leave," I snapped at him.

"I do want to be here," he informed me. His eyes were incredibly sad as he turned and stared at me. "I wouldn't have volunteered otherwise."

"You've avoided me since I awoke," I stated.

He looked away from me as he stated, "I'm not angry with you. I might be disappointed with you for turning your back on your parents, but I am not angry with you."

"We're trying to find a way to visit with Charlie. He might as well know considering he's surrounded by werewolves often, or at least their parents."

He seemed to be uninterested in that little tidbit of information since it only contradicted his main argument in regard to keeping me human. I supposed if I stayed human, he would have been able to avoid me for the rest of my life, but, now that I was a vampire, he couldn't get away from me. He was stuck with me for eternity.

"Trust me," I stated aloud, "I don't care to be stuck with you for all eternity, but for the sake of the covens, I think it's important that we should at least get along."

He looked at me again with a raging fire behind his eyes. "I have no problem getting along with you."

"Don't tell me that! You've been hostile to me ever since the day you found out I loved you!"

The fire within him extinguished immediately, and he turned back around to look at the cave opening. We both knew it was the truth, so I didn't feel bad for pointing out the obvious. Actually, it felt liberating to be honest and forward with him. I hid my love for him, and it left me heartbroken; now, I wasn't going to hide my hatred of him. This time I would be the one to come out on top. I wanted him to suffer like he made me suffer.

Yet somewhere in the back of my mind I heard a small voice telling me this was all wrong. I was hurting him; therefore, I was no better than him. And there was also a small hurt that came with knowing I had done to him what he had done to me. Of course, he didn't get as hurt as I did because he wasn't nearly as attached to me, but that thought still couldn't erase that tiny voice.

Even though it was against my instincts, I reached out to him. Edward looked at me strangely as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Even though you hurt me, I shouldn't treat you the same way."

"I shouldn't have hurt you either," he said sounding completely honest. For a second, I wavered between wanting to fully forgive him and wanting to make him out to be the bad guy in every possible way. "Bella, please give me another chance to earn your respect again. If anything, please do it for the family."

I couldn't help but smile at him. "Agreed. For now, at least, for the sake of our family, we will try and get along." I offered my hand for him to shake.

"Tomorrow, to prove to you my good intentions, I want to help you with your training," he offered as he shook my hand.

A laugh escaped my lips as I thought about how relieved Garrett and Jasper would be with me blocking their thoughts from Edward's mind reading rather than Kate's electricity. "Deal."

For the rest of the early morning hours, we went back to our silence, but this time it was a comfortable silence. Alice was going to be happy when we returned and found out Edward and I had somewhat reconciled, but, then again, she probably already knew. I was sure that was a minor reason she was willing to let Edward whisk me off.

And she was very happy when we came back. "So, it seems you two are at least starting to get along again," she said, rocking back and forth on her heels. If I could have blushed, I probably would have at that moment.

Kate came downstairs with Garrett following behind her. "Oh, Edward, I'm glad you're here," she said. "Do you mind helping us with training? I think the guys would appreciate Bella training with your abilities than with mine. Maybe after she's mastered blocking your mind reading skills, we can try having her block my electricity." Edward just nodded and allowed us to use him as a guinea pig for much of the morning.

The guys were having fun with Edward because he often yelled at them to stop. His growls were easy to ignore, but I found it difficult when he snapped at them. In return, the guys acted like guys and laughed at him as they continued to torture him. I was honestly surprised when Edward didn't give up after twenty minutes and stuck with us through the day.

We took breaks often to allow me to rest and regain any lost strength and to preserve everyone's sanity. Days upon days dragged on, and the longest I could get my shield over one person was only a minute at the most. Yet I was grateful that the five of them continued to be of assistance to me, especially when I wanted to quit.

My big breakthrough didn't come while I was training. Every night Alice, Jasper, and I would always vacate the house. When we weren't hunting, Alice would insist on Bella-sitting and Jasper would tag along just because. Those nights Edward would go as far away from us as he possibly could. After a week, he finally offered to help, but he only did so after we had settled in a spot for the night.

"You could have offered sooner," Jasper grumbled after Edward's offer. I was not a guy, so I could only imagine he was missing Alice terribly.

Edward got in Jasper's face as he countered, "You could have asked someone else to help."

If I had not been a vampire, I wouldn't have been able to comprehend what had happened next. Alice must have thought something because Edward turned and snapped at her. In less than a second Jasper threw Edward against a tree by his throat. Instinctually I threw my shield over Alice to keep Edward from seeing any more of her "offensive" thoughts.

Edward's attitude changed suddenly as he yelled, "Jasper, stop." In confusion at Edward's sudden change, Jasper dropped Edward just as quickly as he had picked him up.

My shield snapped back to me now that I didn't need it any longer. It was strange that I could have moved it that easily when I had so much difficulty earlier that day.

"Jasper, project a strong protective feeling onto Bella," Edward directed Jasper sounding just as casual as he had when he asked Jasper to stop. As Jasper threw protective feelings my way, I heard Edward tell me, "Bella, try throwing your shield onto Alice and Jasper."

I closed my eyes to concentrate on my shield as I felt it easily slide over towards Alice. Once she was covered, I extended it in the other direction towards Jasper and held on without effort. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment, and yet I still had no idea how this was happening.

"It's protectiveness," Edward explained as if it explained all the secrets of the universe. "When Bella feels protective, that's when she can use her shield."

I felt my shield come back to me easily as I willed it to. A quick check revealed little to no drainage of my energy.

"You figured it out? That's awesome, Bella," she said as she pulled me into a tight hug. "You should try with a bigger group tomorrow, and then maybe you can protect us from Kate's ability."

But the next morning most of the household wanted to go hunting, so we had to wait until evening to get any more training in. This time, with Jasper's help, I was able to easily manipulate my shield to cover all of the people I wanted to cover without any effort, including against Kate's abilities.

It felt exhilarating to finally get somewhere with my training. I even learned to manipulate the shield to move around people so I could cover certain individuals and leave others vulnerable.

Tanya showed up to help only after her family encouraged her to join us. "I don't want to get zapped," Tanya whined, to which Kate's reply a jolt of electricity sent only to Tanya. When I covered Tanya with my shield, she relented and got into the ranks with everyone else.

Half an hour later, we all decided that was enough for the night since it seemed I no longer needed training. As we made our plans for the night, Alice suggested to Edward that he take me hunting since I hadn't been hunting in a couple of days. He was about to answer when Tanya asked him, "Edward, do you mind spending time with me tonight? I don't really want to hang out with the humans." She gave him a flirty smile, and I could see Edward literally make up his mind at that moment.

"Yes, Tanya, I'll spend time with you this evening."

That was all he had to say to make things clear to me as to how I ranked in his life. My heart was now stone, but that didn't mean that it lost its ability to ache. And right now I felt that same aching sensation as when he broke my heart, telling me that he could never love me.

Without a word to anyone, I fled the house and ran as far as I could. I didn't care I could come across some helpless human or I hadn't hunted in two days. All I needed to do was get as far away from there as I possibly could to nurse my broken heart.

Half an hour later, I finally stopped and threw myself upon the ground. The need to sob came upon me strongly, but my tear ducts were unable to produce the salty liquid my body needed to relieve the pressure of my aching heart. I was in complete misery physically, emotionally, and mentally.

There was, unfortunately, one conclusion I could make from my reaction to Edward's words: I was in irrevocably in love with Edward. No amount of anger or hurt could erase those feelings. And now I was going to spend an eternity around the one I loved who couldn't love me back.

* * *

A/N: I want to thank all of you who are reading my story. One thing I've learned from posting this story is that it's not the number of reviews that measure how good the story is but the number of people reading it, adding it to their story alert lists, and adding it to their favorite stories lists. So once again, thank you for reading my story, and I promise we are approaching the conclusion.


	22. Understanding

I was never more grateful to Alice for staying away when I needed space. She waited nearly the entire night before coming for me. And when she did approach, she slowed down to a speed that was even slow for humans. She sat down next to me and waited for me to say something.

"Alice, you already know what I'm going to say."

She sighed before stating, "If you choose not to tell me, then my vision changes. But to be honest with you, I already know what you're going to say because I've been waiting for you to realize your feelings again." Sometimes being so close to a relative was disappointing because they always knew you better than you knew yourself.

"What am I going to do?" I asked her. My mind had been mulling over that question all night. "How do I act around him? How do I cope with the pain of being around him and never being loved by him? Is he going to disappear again once he realizes I still love him, and does that mean I'll be forced to leave to make things comfortable for him?"

"First of all, no one is going to tell you to leave, and even if they did, Jasper and I would come with you," she assured me. "Second of all, Edward is not the person you think he is. If you were completely honest with him, he could tell you why he said what he said and did what he did."

I hung my head as I responded, "I know why he said he didn't love me. He didn't want me to become a vampire."

"Exactly," she chirped as if it wasn't a hateful reason.

"But I wasn't going to let him win," I said with determination even though I didn't really have much of a choice considering how quickly everything happened.

"We wouldn't have allowed that. Besides, it seems he doesn't know what's best for him."

I started to get fired up over this little talk. "Yeah, because I could have been the best thing to happen to him. How is Tanya better than me? She's a succubus who probably only wants him because he's handsome and there's no one else left."

"Hey," Alice cried out indignantly. I furrowed my eyebrow at her in confusion. She put her hands on her hips and stated, "Jasper was fair game too!"

I couldn't help but laugh. As much as I was sure Alice was glad she never had to fight Tanya for Jasper, she didn't want to believe that no one else could have wanted her husband.

"This is not funny, Bella. Jasper is handsome and was available at one time. I'll have you know that there were three women fighting over him when he was first changed."

"And yet he picked you," I joked with her. She glared and then turned her back to me. "Come on, Alice. Can't you take a joke?"

"Not when it comes to Jasper."

I conceded slightly, "Well, I always thought you two were perfect for each other despite your opposite personalities."

"Just as long as you realize we were meant for each other, I suppose I can forgive you." She crossed her arms over her chest as she turned forward again. "But don't you dare ever make fun of Jasper again."

"Deal."

We paused for several seconds waiting to see where the conversation was going to go from there. It was Alice who spoke first, "Edward already knows how you feel about him again. He heard it from Jasper when Jasper recognized the feelings coming from you."

I buried my face in my hands. "I was afraid of that."

"He ran away again."

"Of course he would. Why would he want to spend time around me again now that he knows I still love him?" I looked at her as I said, "It was awkward enough when he thought I hated him."

"It's not like that. Just give him time to tell you on his own what's been going on in his head."

"Is he ever going to come back?"

She searched through her visions before answering me, "In a week he'll come back. In the meantime you will be training on how to remove your shield from yourself."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe one day you could show Edward how you feel?"

I figured there was a hidden agenda. "Whatever, Alice. Whatever."

I thought covering others with my shield without Jasper's help was difficult, but that was simple in comparison. Because my shield was a defense, it was stubborn to leave me unprotected. I guessed it didn't help that when I removed it, my reward was getting shocked. Then I instinctively covered myself again.

Despite human time and vampire time being different, it seemed like the week passed too slowly. As much as I didn't want to see Edward, the separation was killing me again. I didn't know if I was staying or leaving. I hated being in limbo.

It didn't help that Edward's disappearance once again brought out Tanya's bad feelings towards me. Thankfully, the worst she did was give me the evil eye, and maybe it wasn't that bad that she avoided me. Unfortunately, it put a strain on my relationship with Irina and Kate, who were Tanya's sisters, and me, who did nothing relatively wrong except fall in love. It wasn't like I could help falling in love.

And then exactly a week after my conversation with Alice, Edward showed up at the house in the middle of my training. "Edward!" Kate said happily as soon as he stepped into the house. "Bella is having trouble keeping her shield off of herself for long periods of time because all she gets rewarded with is electricity. Maybe if she threw it off you could read her mind." One glance between Kate and Alice made me realize this was all part of some grand scheme between the two of them, and, suddenly, I didn't want to learn any longer.

"It's okay guys; it's not important. What's more important is that I can defend others in a conflict."

I tried to walk away, but Alice grabbed onto my arm and begged me to stay, "No, Bella, this is important, and I'm sure Edward would love to help." She gave a poignant look at Edward as she said the last part. He ducked his head before walking up the stairs.

Alice went after him with Jasper following closely behind. Upstairs I heard her saying to Edward, "What do you think you're doing?" Then silence fell as she finished yelling at him in her mind.

Kate just shrugged at me before taking Garrett's offered hand and leaving me alone in the middle of the living room. I never felt so alone in my life as I did at that moment. Not even when I was living alone in Phoenix after having been abandoned by my sister and the one my heart yearned for did I feel this abandoned. And that was when I made up my mind.

Without a moment's hesitation I ran upstairs and into Alice's room. Given the size of the house, there wasn't a room available for me, so I "shared" a room with Alice and Jasper. Obviously, I didn't need a bed, and spent so little time in that room, it became a closet for me.

My suitcase had been unpacked while I was transforming, and Alice actually had the nerve to throw out most of my clothing. What little clothing I had left I threw back into the suitcase along with the books I stashed in there when I packed the last time. Tonight after everyone got home, I would announce that I would leave. I hoped Alice would keep her word and come along with me, but if she didn't, I was prepared to leave without her. I lived alone once before, and I would do it again. Perhaps I would live in Jasper's cabin Alice had mentioned they first ran away to. She could visit me if she didn't want to live there again.

Alice came in while I was closing my suitcase. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily. Jasper took one look into the room and left as quickly as he could. At least he had the brains to stay out of my way at the moment.

"I'm leaving Alice. It's either him or me, and they're all going to choose him." I straightened up and stared her down. "Now, are the both of you going to keep your promise and come along, or am I going to have to find this cabin on my own."

"Oh, no," she said, trying to push me onto the bed, but I was stronger than her due to my newborn strength. She quickly gave up and crossed her arms across her chest instead. "You are going to stay and work things out with him once and for all. I don't care if I have to lock you up in a room together to get the both of you to talk."

"It won't work. He'll just tear down the door to get away from me. He's been running away since he found out."

"Then why did he follow you to Phoenix?" she asked in her anger. Just as soon as the words left her mouth, she slapped her hands over it.

And as she was panicking, my ire was growing stronger. "He followed me to Phoenix?"

"I wasn't supposed to tell you," she whispered. Upstairs on the third floor, my sensitive hearing caught Edward opening his door and running in our direction.

I pushed past her to Edward, who was standing in the doorway. I was so angry that I got in his face and yelled at him, "I can't believe you hated the idea of me becoming a human so much that you would follow me to prevent me from meeting up with Alice. I suppose that's why I had to act all strange and cryptic when I left that next morning. You know what? I'm glad that they used you to change me. You deserved to be used like that. Screw you, Edward!"

With that said, I flew past him and down the stairs only to find most of the family coming in from their hunting trip. "Is something wrong?" Carlisle asked casually when they saw me with my suitcase. They probably heard me yelling from outside the house. The concern in Esme's eyes told me that they had.

"I'm leaving," I announced firmly. Then I turned back to Alice, who was still shocked and now standing at the top of the stairs, and questioned her, "Are you coming with me?"

Carlisle stepped forward cautiously as he said, "I'm sure we can work this out."

"No, I'm leaving."

"Go, Bella!" I heard Emmett cheer for me, which was followed by the sound of Rosalie slapping him upside the head.

"I love you," I heard a voice yell over them all from the top of the stairs. It wasn't the feminine voice of Alice, although she was still standing at the top of the stairs. No, this came from the vampire standing next to her. "I followed you to Phoenix because I love you. I would have followed you to the ends of the earth until you died, and then I would have asked the Volturi to kill me afterwards."

Behind me I could hear vampires moving as they once again exited the house. Alice excused herself quietly, and she and Jasper went upstairs to their room leaving me now completely alone with Edward.

He approached me very slowly as if he was afraid I might pounce on him. "Please tell me what you're thinking. I can't read your mind," he pleaded with me.

There were too many emotions running through me at that very moment for me to properly express them, and it was then I finally realized why Alice had been pushing me so hard to remove my shield. It took a great deal of concentration, but, slowly, I removed the shield to allow Edward into my mind. I let him see my confusion, my jealousy of Tanya, the heartbreak I felt when he denied me a kiss at prom, and when he tore my world apart in front of Jacob. And I let him feel my anger as he dwelt only on the fact he failed to keep me from transforming, even though there was nothing that could have done to turn back the clock.

And when I was done, I let my shield snap back into place. When I opened my eyes I saw him standing directly in front of me, his arms planted firmly at his sides. We just stared at each other for awhile. I felt so raw and exposed after letting him in, but it was now all out in the open, or at least my feelings were.

"There are no words I could say to tell you how much I hate myself. I've stayed away not because I hate you. I already told you I don't hate you. I hate myself for what I said and what I did in the name of protecting your soul."

"I don't…" but he silenced me by putting his index finger over my lips. I felt an electric current where his skin touched my own, but, unlike Kate's electricity, this was a welcome and exciting feeling.

"I know you don't, but I do care about your soul. I don't want you to suffer like I do." I tried to say something again, but he prevented me once more. "Bella, I can't explain how selfish I wanted to be and by letting you become mine for all eternity, heaven and hell be damned."

"You keep saying you love me, but nothing you ever did showed me that," I pointed out to him once he let me speak again.

There was great pain in his eyes as they stared into mine. "I know your human memories are fuzzy, but I need you to remember. Please, remember for me." He placed his hands over my eyes causing me to close them. "Do you remember the day in the meadow?"

I searched my memories, but they were incredibly thick and hazy. Slowly, the memory of the day revealed itself, and I let Edward back into my mind again. We had spent the whole day in the meadow enjoying one of the rare sunny days in Forks. That was the first time I saw him in the sun, the rays of light bouncing off his skin causing it to sparkle. And as the night approached, we left and I couldn't remember much more.

The feeling of Edward's lips on my forehead left me reeling as the faintest memories of cold lips doing the same thing that night floated in the back of my mind. I thought that had been a part of my dream. "Was that you?" I asked him. I felt him nod his head as he held me to him in a hug. I was too stunned to pull away from him.

"Do you remember me asking you to prom?" he whispered in my ear.

"You asked me because Alice wanted you to."

"I asked you because I wanted to ask you. I had Alice ask Esme and Rosalie to take you shopping for a dress. When I heard your reaction to Mike's questions, it gave me some hope you might go with me, but I was uncertain of your feelings for me. And I started to understand what you felt when you wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss you."

My mind flashed back to the pictures. I didn't know what happened to them. I was probably too depressed to even look at them. But what I do remember about that night and the pictures was that they looked so real. The way he looked at me was the way I looked at him. I supposed he could have staged that, but could a vampire with superhuman abilities fake the look of love?

"But you didn't kiss me," I reminded him. "It was a last minute decision because Alice tried to tell me something was going to happen that night and when it didn't, she told me it was a last minute decision."

He raked a hand through his hair in frustration as he relived that memory also. "At the last minute I realized that if we kissed, there would be no turning back. You would know how I felt, and then there would be no way I could convince you to remain human. It was difficult enough with you wanting to be with Alice for eternity."

So I questioned him, "So that's why you said what you did that day in the forest?"

"Yeah," he conceded bitterly. "I knew you would believe me because you didn't even understand that Emmett had been telling you the day of prom that I was that other vampire who was braving the agony of prom just to make you happy. And even Alice knew that my appearance would be disastrous. She didn't even call me to save you. She called Emmett."

"Then how did you…?"

"I made a last minute decision to head home and saw Emmett on his way to your rescue. I read it in his thoughts, and I insisted on going with him." I nodded my head because I didn't know what else to do. "Seeing him there hurting you…I never felt so scared or angry in my entire life. I wanted to rip his throat out and feed it to him, and I was afraid he might do something to you before I could even get to him."

He held me even closer as he relived the memory. In my own mind, I remembered how relieved I was to see him and Emmett.

"And when I heard him replay your conversation from inside the house I was both thrilled and mortified. I was excited to know I wasn't alone in my feelings, and mortified because I knew the only way I could keep you at arm's length was to break your heart. And that's what I did. I pushed you away, and I've hated myself ever since.

"I knew I had done irreversible damage when I heard you dreaming the night before Alice reconnected with my family. I felt helpless as you cried out my name in your dream through your tears. All I could do was hold you and try calming you with my words, but when morning came around I had to disappear again.

"It was too late for me to keep you from changing, and I knew I didn't have a chance of convincing you otherwise when I got there."

I remembered the note I had thought was for Renee or Charlie, but it was Edward who had received it. It was all part of her plan to make sure everything had gone smoothly.

He continued on, "There was nothing left for me anymore. I failed to keep you human, and now you despised me. I left because I had enough difficulty facing myself, much less you. I don't deserve to be forgiven, but don't leave because of me. This is just as much your home as it is mine. They want you to be a part of our family. I want you to be a part of your life if you'll let me."

He pulled back from me and stood at arm's length. Edward was now giving me the choice. I was the one who would need to make the decision to stay or go; to decide where our relationship would go from here.

It was no longer a question of whether or not Edward loved me. He had all along, but it had been my prejudices that had prevented me from seeing the truth right in front of my face. Even Alice had tried to make me understand, but I was too damn stubborn to see.

It was now a question of whether or not my heart could forgive him. Could I let him in again and risk heartbreak?

A sudden thought popped into my head that escaped my brain filter, "And what about Tanya?"

"What about Tanya?" he asked nervously.

"Why did you want to spend time with her instead of me?"

He looked slightly nervous as he explained, "Alice told me to. She told me if I did, you would get jealous. Jasper felt it, but he also felt your heart break further instead of fight for me. I thought that was likely the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back."

"So you don't love her?" I asked feeling still slightly jealous of her. "She is prettier and definitely sexier."

He chuckled only slightly before stating, "You don't see yourself clearly enough. I always thought you were ten times more beautiful and sexy than her. Besides, I always did prefer brunettes." He held my hands in his gently as he promised me, "I never saw her as more than a sister, but I cannot deny that I love you. I would rather die than live without you."

"Even go to the Volturi?"

"If you asked me to, I would."

I hesitated only a minute before making my decision.

* * *

An hour later, my clothes were unpacked again, but this time they were in my new room. Edward and I knew we should probably vacate the house soon, but we were too comfortable cuddling on our bed. Well, it wasn't really my bed or my room yet, but it only seemed right to call it "ours".

"So Rosalie won the bet," I said still astounded they bet on us. Actually, they bet on who would be the first person to tell me about Edward following me to Phoenix. Rosalie bet on Alice, and Jasper probably would have also except he didn't want to anger Alice. Instead, Jasper bet on Edward while Emmett bet on Tanya.

Edward chuckled as he kissed my forehead again before shifting his body to move away from me. I didn't particularly like the idea, but I let him go. He walked over to his desk and pulled open a drawer to remove something before closing it again. I watched as he crossed over to my side of the bed and got down on one knee as he took my hands in his.

"I told myself if I should be so lucky to have you forgive me, I would not hesitate to do this right." I watched him hold out a black velvet ring box. My heart, though dead, fluttered in my chest as I realized what this was. Marriage had never been something I looked forward to after I saw my parents' marriage fail spectacularly. "Bella, I know you don't believe in marriage, but I come from a time where marriage was essential. It would mean a great deal to me if you would marry me and we do this right."

I opened the ring so I didn't have to look at his face at that moment as I mulled the thoughts over in my mind. The ring was gold and oval set with several round stones. It looked like an antique.

"I know how much you hate gifts and people spending money on you, but I didn't buy this ring. It belonged to my mother, and that's why I want to give it to you." He looked up at me with pleading eyes again.

Edward was an old fashioned man, just like Jasper. Yet Alice happily married Jasper, most likely with little hesitation because she loved him enough to overlook her reserves about marriage. Besides, vampire hearts were not like human hearts. Alice told me once vampires love for eternity.

So I pushed my doubts aside and smiled at Edward, who was watching me with much apprehension. "Yes, I will marry you."

Just as he was sweeping me into his arms for a kiss, Alice burst into the room and said, "I've been waiting for him to do that all night. We don't have much time. I need to make you a dress for your wedding tomorrow." She proceeded to wrap the tape measure around my waist once she pried Edward off of me.

Panic started to set in me. "Tomorrow?" I hadn't expected it that soon. If I could have blushed, I would have. Alice continued to take measurements as I looked at Edward for help.

"Alice." She didn't stop, so he spoke louder "Alice."

"Alice," said Jasper from the doorway. "Leave them alone."

With that, Alice sighed and pouted as she pulled her hands away from me. "Tomorrow then. Get married the day after."

Smiling, Jasper pulled her out of the room, leaving Edward and me alone again. "So..."

"So..." he repeated and leaned down to place a long, tender kiss against my lips.

* * *

A/N: One more chapter left to go because we haven't wrapped up everything yet. I'm hoping to finish it in the next couple of days, and then I should give my beta a day. So, in other words, I hope to have it posted by the weekend, especially since there's not much to do with it storming nearly every day.


	23. Epilogue

*A Year and a Half Later*

We packed the last of our things into the car. Carlisle held Esme by the entrance to the massive garage. "We shouldn't spend more than a day or two before driving out to join you," Edward informed them, but mostly for Esme.

She leaned over to hug Edward. The three of us hugged her also before we climbed into Edward's Volvo. The Aston Martin and Alice's brand new, yellow Porsche 911 Turbo were to be shipped for a later date. Thanks to her abilities, we successfully made a great deal of money in the Stock Market, and that was the first thing she bought besides more clothes, which included a new wardrobe for me. Edward kept telling me that when we got to our new home he would buy me a Ferrari F430, but I still insisted he not buy me anything, especially something so expensive and flashy.

We would joining the rest of the Cullen family in our new home in Maine. Carlisle had gotten a job at a local hospital, and we would all be starting high school when we got there. They were all confident I would be able to control myself since I had been able to spend time in town without any incidents.

But before we went to Maine, we had some business to take care of in Forks.

Most of the way there I thought about the last time we were in Forks together. My heart had been broken, and I didn't know his had also. We were strangers to each other then, and, sometimes, I still feel that way even though we were married a year ago. Even a century won't give me enough time to learn everything about him.

We arrived at the Cullen's house outside of town in the middle of the night. Early in the morning, the four of us ran through the woods until we smelled an awful smell. I wrinkled my nose, as did Alice, and the guys laughed at us. "Werewolves," Edward explained. I was about to open my mouth to ask him how he knew when I caught sight of Jacob up ahead just in front of the tree line behind the house.

Jacob hadn't aged since he changed, but he always looked too old for his age. What also hadn't changed was the scowl on his face at the sight of Edward. The four of us stopped right in front of him. "Cullen," Jacob said indignantly. He looked at me, and I saw his eyes soften slightly as he greeted me in a slightly friendlier tone, "Bella." He nodded his head towards me and then towards Alice and Jasper.

Without much thought, I grabbed Edward's hand and held it. By doing so I was silently telling Jacob I had given my heart away to someone who returned my feelings. Jacob's eyes focused where I wanted them to, and he looked disgusted for a second.

Edward said, "There's no reason to be angry at me because you lost Bella to me. She made her choice." Jacob rolled his eyes at Edward and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Enough chatting," Alice cut in. "We came to see Charlie, and I know he's eager to see us also."

Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but Jasper growled at him, "I can drain you of blood faster than it would take for your pack to rescue you."

"Want to try?" Jacob challenged him, but we were thankfully saved from a fight by Sam's appearance. He ordered Jacob into the house and then for us to follow him.

Inside there were four werewolves, Billy, Sue Clearwater, and Charlie. He looked like he had his own entourage, but they were all there to protect him in case his daughters tried to take his life. Charlie was never an emotional guy, so it didn't surprise me that he hung back a little. I think it hurt Alice, but I also knew she was aware that boundaries needed to be set for his protection.

Charlie knew all about us being vampires. Shortly after my disappearance, Sue had come to Charlie's aid. She comforted him when his daughters weren't there to do so, and over time they started developing feelings for each other. From what I gathered from conversations with Billy, he hadn't been too thrilled with the idea of Charlie and Sue developing a relationship because he seemed to fancy himself in love with her also.

Nevertheless, because of Sue's role in Charlie's life, it was essential for him to know his future stepchildren were werewolves. And since they were going to tell him about the werewolves, Billy was forced to agree Charlie ought to know about his daughters being vampires. I wish I knew how Charlie reacted to the news, and, unfortunately Alice couldn't see it because Jacob had also been in attendance and had effectively blocked her vision.

No one said anything for the first few minutes, and the silence was awkward. Finally, Alice, being the most social of the group, started asking questions of Charlie about what he had been doing in the last couple of years. Eventually, we moved onto the gossip around town and on the reservation. Everyone was always careful not to mention our past or their thoughts on our selfishness.

After an hour, Charlie finally asked, "Do you mind if the girls and I just talk?" Everyone looked at him in surprise, but even I have to admit that I thought it was difficult to talk with so many spectators. Still, I was a bit afraid to be left alone with Charlie and only Alice to keep me from doing something stupid.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Billy stated.

But Charlie would not be detoured. "I need to talk to the girls alone. I'm sure we'll be fine." Sue started to protest along with Sam, but again Charlie insisted on speaking to us alone. Even Edward and Jasper were asked to step outside to give us some privacy. In Charlie's mind we had privacy. I, on the other hand, knew that Edward, Jasper, and the werewolves would be able to clearly hear us.

Once they were all outside and the door was shut, he finally asked what I'm sure had been on his mind for the past couple of years, "Was it something I did to drive the both of you to…?" It was almost too painful for him to finish.

"No," I assured him immediately. "You didn't do anything wrong. Neither did Mom or Phil."

Alice explained to him, "I followed Jasper out of love, and I knew that if I made the leap, then I could help Bella."

"That boy? What's his name? Edward?" he questioned me.

"I didn't ask to be changed because of Edward," I explained. "For the first several weeks after my change we didn't even get along."

I didn't think he believed me, but he was also mature enough to see what I didn't see back then. Perhaps he saw it when Edward took me to prom or possibly before then.

"So, are those my sons-in-law?" Charlie questioned us.

Alice proceeded to tell him about running away with Jasper and getting married while I thought back over my wedding day. The morning after Edward proposed, as we were coming back to the house from an evening of hunting, Alice was waiting for me with the tape measure again. She spent nearly the entire day making the dress and setting up everything for my small wedding the next afternoon.

It was just our family since I was still not allowed near humans, and Carlisle performed the ceremony because it only seemed right that he do it considering before he was changed he was studying to be a minister like his father. Even Tanya was there to witness our wedding, but I didn't notice anyone there besides Edward. actually, I noticed Alice because she had insisted on being my only bridesmaid, and she was nearly jumping up and down with excitement for the whole short ceremony.

While I was thinking, Alice must have told Charlie about my situation with Edward because he seemed a bit alarmed before Alice stated, "But they have only had a couple of arguments since the wedding." He looked over at me as if trying to assess whether I was okay and not doubting my marriage. I smiled at him until he stopped examining me.

"Billy mentioned you were in the area because you were moving."

This time I was the one to explain to him our plans and our reasoning behind visiting him. To human eyes, he might have seem unmoved by our decision to visit, but my vampire senses saw the small signs that gave way his concern for us.

"If you want, we'll come visit whenever you want," Alice told him. He nodded his head before standing up and walking out of the room.

Minutes later, Edward and Jasper came back following Charlie. Charlie lectured them on taking care of the both of us and how we should be allowed to visit whenever we wanted. It was quite hilarious when I considered how much older they were than him.

By the time we arrived back home, the sun was starting to shine through the clouds, a rare sight in Forks. The Volvo's tinted windows made it easier for us to drive now if we wanted to, but something was sitting on my mind. "Edward?"

"Hm?"

"Before we leave, can we do just one more thing?"

He stood before me and cupped my cheeks in his hands. "I'm sure I won't mind, but Alice and Jasper are eager to get on the road."

"It's just," I started suddenly, not so sure it was a good idea.

"What is it?"

"I kind of wanted to see the meadow once more, but this time with my vampire eyes and in the spring."

Alice and Jasper walked into the room, and Alice responded enthusiastically, "I would love to see the meadow. I mean, I did see it in a vision, but I have never seen it in person." Jasper just shrugged his shoulders, easily giving into his wife.

This time the walk to the meadow was much easier since I didn't have to worry about tripping over everything and nothing the whole way there. I was actually very grateful for my new ability to walk without tripping. Every time I mentioned it, Edward got this forlorn look and mumble something about how he liked being able to catch me every time I fell.

The meadow was more spectacular than I remembered it being. The spring flowers were starting to bloom, and the whole meadow was bursting with new and renewed life. Unfortunately, the sun had gone behind a few clouds again, but I imagined it would look better in the sunlight.

Alice giggled before running into the middle of the meadow so she could twirl around. She threw herself back and disappeared amidst the tall grasses. Jasper chuckled as he went to join her. Edward hung back with me several more minutes to take everything in.

Eventually, we joined Alice and Jasper as we sat in the middle of the meadow. We didn't have to do anything, nor did we want to spoil the moment. In this moment, we just existed along with the rest of the world, and life was good.

And, finally, the sun came out again and shone a spotlight upon our little meadow. The four of us sparkled unabashedly in the sunlight. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had a strange sense of déjà vu. But instead of focusing on it, I focused on how grateful I was to share this moment with the three of them.

**The End**

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A/N: I want to thank everyone who read this, especially this far. And I especially want to thank my beta and best friend, klutz82, for helping me and putting up with my bad grammar.


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